The 11-year-old felt very excited. He had not seen his ‘very good’ friend Henry James Blanchet since they broke up for the summer holidays and he was really looking forward to seeing the Hufflepuff boy again. He enjoyed his friendship with Henry, but it was something that was slightly bitter-sweet for him. Henry was pretty much Dominic’s best friend, he didn’t have many friends, and he felt that he got n with Henry the best. However, it was upsetting for the Gryffindor that the friendship status was not reciprocated towards him in the same way. It made him feel inadequate, and slightly resentful towards the Hufflepuff boy, and the two others that he considered to be his best friends. He didn’t understand why he could not be included as part of that friendship group, why he couldn’t be counted as being one of Henry’s best friends. After all, he had hung out with the trio during school dances and balls.

Still, he guessed that he should value the friendship that he had with Henry, rather than wishing it to be more. If he did that too much, it might end up souring the relationship totally and he could end up with nothing at all. That, in Dominic’s mind, would be totally disastrous and even worse than the situation that he was in now.

He had owled young Henry and organised to meet up with him outside the Sugarplum sweet’s shop. He didn’t really have ant intention of actually going in there, inside he wanted to go exploring. The plan that Dom had in his mind was to go magical creature hunting in Diagon Alley and, if possible, to go and explore Knockturn Alley as well. It as going to be a very exciting day for the boys, full of fun, adventure and excitement.

Taking out a list from his jeans pocket Dominic had already written down all the magical creatures that he felt might be living in Diagon Alley, there was a possibility that they might see a Jankawomble, or a Nibblefret, or possible a Great Parafin. It was all fun to find out where those creatures might be.

Knockturn Alley offered even more excitement, that would have even more exciting, possibly even dangerous creatures. A Harat, the Wimblebonker or even the Dratsnake might be lurking about the dark nooks and crannies of Knockturn. That was not to mention falling victim of the deadly Nettik. He rubbed his hands with excited glee and whistled a bit of a happy tune, as he waited to be re-united with his butty.

A-hunting We Will Go

Henry was afraid that Dominic’s letter had slightly troubled his aunt, for she had asked one of his old babysitters to go with him to Diagon Alley though Henry had assured her that he was perfectly capable of going on his own (preferring not to mention that he had already done so). He also didn’t have to get anything, so it wasn’t like he was going to spend any money. They already had bought all his school stuff. He was just going to walk around in the Alley. Absolutely nothing could happen to him. At least his babysitter understood and had agreed to let him go and do whatever he wanted if he only was back at the Leaky Cauldron in three hours. He hadn’t been allowed to bring Gunther though, which Henry thought was a shame. But it was also true that Gunther didn’t like too much going on with people he didn’t know. So maybe that was better.

He hadn’t any plans for today. There was only so much they could do in a street meant for shopping when you were twelve and had no money with you. They were just going to look at things and talk. There wasn’t really any reason for doing more. They could still have a fun time. There were many shops in which he hadn’t been that often. Or at least hadn’t had much time to look around. There certainly were a lot of funny places in some side streets where they never went while buying their school books. He would have to wait and hear what Dominic felt like doing.

For one, he had not often been to Sugarplum’s Sweets Shop, so he was a little glad that his former babysitter walked with him until they could see the building and Henry had made out the small blonde boy. Then she embraced him, reminded him to be back in time, and went to do something as boring as going to clothes shops or something else that Henry really couldn’t understand why anybody wasted their time with.

“Hi,” he said breathlessly once he reached his friend. “How are you? Are you excited for the next year? What do we want to do? Do you still need something for school? Have your parents come too? Is everything fine?” He grinned, glad to know that he had not to feel sorry for asking too many questions at once. He was certain that Dominic would be more than up to the task of both answering them and say a good deal more. Henry might not have made any plans, but he supposed his friend had. And if they didn’t involve anything that Henry knew that his auntie would disapprove of, he was ready to agree with whatever he would suggest. They had the whole afternoon. There was almost nothing they couldn’t do.

---

Words: 478

Dom’s eyes lit up when he saw Henry. He had not seen his friend in ages, and his excitement at seeing his pal again was very obvious from the huge grin on his face. The pair met when Dominic has hanging out in a tree in Hogwarts and hit it off. Ever since then their friendship has grown and grown. The Gryffindor was very pleased with it. It was good to have friends; it was not something that the 11-year-old had much experience with, to be honest. It was a nice feeling, it was something that the little boy wanted to keep hold of.

”HENRY!!” exclaimed the hyperactive youngster, he went in for a hug with the Hufflepuff but thought better of it. Hugging someone is not exactly a manly thing to do, was it? It was something that girls did, wasn’t it? Not boys. It was regrettable that he couldn’t do that. The boy gave Henry a bit of an embarrassed look to his butty. He hoped that Henry didn’t think any less of him for his attempted hug.

”I am good thanks, how are are you? You had a a a good holiday. I I have been so busy this holiday. I had a a a picnic with with my my my cousins. Amy and and and Donnie, I I I think you you met them before?” he took a small breath ”I I I also been looking for for for all kind of of of new and and interesting magical creatures that that we have in in in Wales but but it it it is so hard. Especially since we we we cannot use magic because it it it it was hard. he continued ”It it it is so unfair, it it it means that that we dcould not practice our our our magic for for for the holidays.What if if I have forgot all of of of the stuff that I I I learn last year? Amy and and Don said that that I I I should read to to revise but that is sooooooooo boring.”

He hadn’t seen his friend in such a long time that it was clear that the blond lad had a lot to tell him ”Ooh ooh ooh, I I I am very excited for for the new year. We are going to learn so much new cool stuff and and and I I am thinking about trying out for the the the quidditch team, maybe. I I I am not sure that that I will get onto it through and and I prefer magical creatures to to to quidditch but it it it be an experience to to try, maybe. he wondered if that was sensible thing to do? He was okay at flying but it wasn’t really his thing. Was it worth trying out just for the sake of trying out? Dominic wasn’t sure, it probably wasn’t worth it if he was honest with himself.

”I I I do not need anything for for for school, my my my parents and and I have already been shopping, my my my mam is at the the bank and has other errands to to run." the young boy kept going "I I I am to meet her at the the tea shop when I I I am finished. My my my dad is is at work. But we we we can still go shopping if if you like. and going "I I have some money. What about you, have you got everything for schooool? Other than shopping we we we can just explore Diagon Alley and and and see if we can find any interesting creatures." and going "I I I I heave that some some Snorelfeas have have infested one of of of the shops here. They are are little spiders that that crawl inside your ear while you sleep and and and make you snore as as they feed off your dreams.”

Finally Dominic stopped to catch a breath, and then continued. ”I I am fine though, I I I had a really good summer though, I I I am good. How about you? Are things o-okay with you? How has your summer been? Have you been up to to much? Are you excited about going back to to school? I think it will be cool, although II I hope that the boys in my dorm are are nicer to to to me this year. Do you need to to do any shopping? Or or do you have anything plans about what we can do?” he gave an excited grin at Henry, yet again enjoying his year mates company.

A whole afternoon was before them in an alley that was full of the strangest and most fascinating shops in the world. And now that he could discover everything with Dominic, they’d be able to take the time they needed to study all the exciting things that had to be everywhere around here. Whenever he had been here before, he had been with his aunt (which were always great trips) or a babysitter (which were less so), and that had its advantages and everything, but it was not the same as being with someone of his own age. Someone who’d accept his ideas of what they could do without any “buts”.

He didn’t really have an idea yet, but right now they had only just set eyes on each other since they had left Hogwarts. He had seen Lizzy and Carin a few times and written with Atha, but from Dominic he hadn’t heard much for a while now. It was weird. For so long they almost daily saw each other, and then not at all for over a month. Then, there had been going on an awful lot. And he had to celebrate being with his auntie again. That had occupied him for the first two weeks. Just being with her.

But now it was nice to be with his other friend again though for a moment he wondered whether he had done anything wrong when the Gryffindor suddenly drew back. It was weird and he was about to ask but then decided against. If there was a problem, Dominic would certainly tell him so. “Yes, of course I have,” he inserted quickly. “T’ve talked with Donald a couple of times, he’s so knowledgeable. And that sounds like a lot of fun that picnic.” It seemed a little obvious to Henry that Dominic wouldn’t have found any animals in Wales. After their failure at Hogwarts, he should by now have learnt that undiscovered animals were not everywhere. “You won’t forget all of it,” he said. “It’s always been handle like that, and that didn’t happen to anybody. But you know, just one hour of reading per day would really be of great help.” And one hour wasn’t much. He was revising far more.

“Yeah, I’d like to try out too,” said Henry wistfully. Both Lizzy and Carin were flying a lot during the holidays and getting a lot of training by their families, who were all super into Quidditch. But he couldn’t afford a broom, so he would never make the team. It was no use dreaming. Once he had a broom, he could try out. Maybe next year if his auntie gave him one for Christmas. “But it’d be good training I think,” he replied. “Even if you don’t get on the team this year, your chances for the next will be higher.” That sounded reasonable to him. If the captain and the other team members knew Dominic existed as a potential player, they were more likely to consider taking him on the team. “What position do you want to play?”

He nodded, a little glad that they wouldn’t need to go to all the shops he already knew to collect school stuff. It would be more exciting to go to places where he hadn’t already been countless times. While Dominic talked, he patiently waited until the other boy offered him a possibility to reply. Then, a frown appeared on his face at his friend’s claim of spiders crawling inside ears. A year ago, this would have frightened him — nobody wanted something nesting in their ears — but by now he could ignore these creatures rather successfully. Unless there was something striking him as familiar, he didn’t pay much attention anymore to the animals Dominic claimed were everywhere but nobody but the Gryffindor had ever seen.

He was about to interrupt his friend when he stopped by himself and recapped his questions. “I’ve got everything,” he said. “I already went with my auntie. Shopping doesn’t sound that interesting anyway. I guess we’ll just walk around and wait until we see something worth exploring. I’m sure there will be one before long. This direction?” He pointed into the opposite direction where he had come from before adding, “My summer was great, and I can’t wait to be back and to see everybody again and to use magic again. I mean, it’s very sad that Auntie will be so far away but… and I’m sure the other boys’ll be nicer. There’ll be new Prefects, you should try asking them for help if there’s a problem too.” Nothing against the old prefects, but sometimes someone new had also new ideas, which might prove helpful. Henry was very confident about that.

Dominic was still smiling widely at his friend. It was interesting to the Gryffindor boy that Henry had talked to Donald a few times. That was something that Dominic didn’t know and it did surprise him to an extent. Was Donald checking up on him? Or was it Henry that was doing the checking up. Then against the entire thing could be a coincidence. Dominic did mention his cousins a few times to Henry, so he wasn’t bothered by Henry and Donald talking to each other. Although he sometimes found Donnie to be a bit boring, he was a nice guy really. The blond-haired youngster decided to be nicer about him for now on.

”He is very smart, but but sometimes I I think he he seems a a bit of a a know-it-all and and and that can be soooo annoying and and and boring.” well, so much for the being nice about him. ”But but the picnic was very fun.” he agreed. ”It it was good seeing both Donald and and and Amy again. And me and Donnie did team up to to to annoy Amy as much as as we could.” that was fun, luckily for the boys that they both managed to outrun her when they pushed her too far. A massive grin came on his face ”It was fun.”

It was reassuring to hear his good friend tell him he won’t forget all of it. It was true, of course, the little boy was not very likely to forget what he learnt. He was being hyperbolic. ”But but reading is is so boring….” he restated at the reading comment. The Welsh lad could not even commit to oe hour a day, that could be an hour spent having an adventure and having fun. Not cooped up reading some dull old book.

”Trying out would be be be fun” he agreed, it was something that he was thinking about but wasn’t entirely serious. ”If I I am honest, I I am not good enough, but it it is good to to try out I I I I guess….” he said, starting to wonder if he was really just wasting the time of his fellow Gryffindors by not being good enough for the team? It could be seen that way, especially if he was not serious about joining the Quidditch team. ”But I I guess it it it can help out for for for next year.” he agreed that it would be helpful for them next year. ”I I I guess that I I could be like my my cousin and and be a a seeker…but maybe I I I am aiming too high.” he as not of flyer as Don was. ”But maybe a a a chaser or or or keeper would be be be good too. But we we we could be reserves.” it seemed like the most likely outcomes for second years.

Still, Quidditch was not his primary interest, and if the 11-year-old did not get onto the Gryffindor team, he would not be heartbroken. Perhaps he could get some tips from Donald about flying in general though. That could be interesting.

”Sure” he said in agreeing to go down that route. The boy was glad that he didn’t need to go shopping with Henry either. While it was nice spending time with his friend, it would be boring to be hanging out with the Hufflepuff while he was going to go shopping for school stuff anyway. Maybe the lads could go shopping for some fun stuff instead. Dominic fancied getting himself a cat. He wondered if he could ask Henry for advice on that. After all, he had a cat.

”I am glad you had a good summer and and and seeing some of the others again might be be be nice. It be be cool to to to see Liz again…” he agreed with his butty. ”…and I I Hope you are right about the the the boys being nicer this year and and the prefects being more able to to to look out for me.” it was reassuring to think that. He wanted to believe that Henry was right, so he would.  

Thinking how long he hadn’t seen Dominic, the summer seemed impossibly long to Henry. It was weird. Whenever he was with his auntie, it felt far too short. And even now, he dreaded the day that he’d have to leave her and go on the Hogwarts Express. At the same time he was looking forward to that day when he’d see all his friends again. It didn’t fit together, and it somewhat saddened Henry. His own life didn’t make sense. He could only hope that this was normal, he didn’t dare to ask in case it would be a sign that something was wrong with him. Maybe he should go ahead and face his fears but… He only wanted to make everyone, especially his auntie, happy. As long as he didn’t forget that, he should be safe.

There was something so carefree about Dominic that Henry almost envied — or worried. Another one of these emotions that didn’t add up. How could he be so judgemental about his cousin. Didn’t he know how fortunate he was to have cousins — on second thought, this might very well be the truth. It was hard to appreciate something that was taken for granted. He had heard or read that somewhere before. “You did what!” he exclaimed next. He had just been proud of himself not to have told off Dominic to talk bad about Donald, and now he said something like that. “That doesn’t sound like fun,” he objected. “I don’t think Amy is someone to cross.” He involuntarily shuddered.

Henry shook his head a little at the Gryffindor’s protest against reading. Really, they were twelve now. More or less adults already. “It’s necessary for school,” said Henry, not completely able to suppress sounding preachy. “And if you’d give it a real chance and wouldn’t get distracted every other minute, you wouldn’t have to reread the same passage over and over again because you forgot it. Then you’d read new and interesting things. And that’s not boring.” It wasn’t even like reading was hard for Dominic as far as Henry could tell. It was just his lack of concentration that was to blame.

“Yeah,” Henry agreed once more. “I don’t have a broom, so there’s that. And as for good enough, you can achieve a lot by training I think. I’m not that talented I’d guess, but… d’you think you’ve got talent? I mean… Donald flies, so it’s in the family. You could ask his opinion. He’d also give you a lot of tips, certainly. Can you train at home?” He knew Lizzy and Carin could, and didn’t Dominic live somewhere in the country where there were far less people around than in London? So he could fly all the time. Or at least that was how Henry imagined it. “Chaser seems more fun to me. Seekers are spending so much time waiting-” He bit his lip. Had he just implied that his yearmate wouldn’t have the required concentration? Did he maybe really think so? And if yes, was he insulting Dominic by thinking so of him? Who knew that Quidditch could be so difficult. “I think they let the resevers train with the team, so it’d be actually great to be one,” he said, nodding. Not that it was possible in his case. Not without a proper broom. Maybe he could wish for one for Christmas or his birthday?

“There’s a joke shop somewhere down here, I think,” said Henry as they set into motion. “Or the Magical Menagerie, we could go there. They’ve got animals to look at. That’s fun. And maybe they’d know there stuff about magical animals that live here in the alley.” He wouldn’t suggest Flourish and Blotts to the Gryffindor. He enjoyed spending time there, but it hardly was the best place for Dominic. And he didn’t like Madam Malkins or the Apothecary. Eeylops might be fun though. Or the Quidditch shop. They’d see where they’d get first.

“I’m sure it’ll be great,” Henry reassured his friend once again. “We’re not the youngest anymore. We have to be more responsible and mature. They’ll be nice this time.” Responsibility would do everybody good, Henry was sure of that. There would be new first-years, and they would all have to be a good example of how to behave. Henry certainly intended to be exactly that. To help the first-years wherever he could and be supportive of everyone who let him.

Dominic was so happy to be spending time with Henry again. While he enjoyed summer, a lot, it was a long time to be away from Hogwarts and from his friends. Especially Henry. He cared a lot or the Hufflepuff boy, he cared about all his friends but he felt that he had a special sort of bond with Henry was one of the first friends that the Gryffindor had made in Hogwarts and was definitely his first butty that he had made outside of his own house. That is if you didn’t count his cousins. To the blond-haired youngster that had to count for something, right?

A tiny look of surprise came on Dominic’s place when his friend exclaimed ‘you did what’ He didn’t know Henry had had a run in with his eldest cousin. He would admit that Amy could be a bit intimidating sometimes and she did have a very short temper at times and was someone that could easily blow up against someone when pushed. At the same time, underneath her harsh exterior, she could be quite nice one you got to know her. She was just a bit grumpy and rather ill-tempered at times. That, and she could be very sexist towards boys. Which could be annoying.

”Well…” he said in a confessional sort of manner ”…she did ch-chase us and and and threaten to to kick us in the the the you know whats, but but we managed to to outrun her. Luckily” obviously the Gryffindor boy had no desire to be kicked there. ”Still it it it it was a a a fun picnic and and and everything was okay in in in the end.” it was the highlight of his summer so far, but he was pretty sure that meeting Henry would be ranking right up towards the very top as well.

He internally sighed when he noticed Henry shake his head. The 11-year-old knew that his friend did not share his views on reading. The young boy did not see the point of it himself, maybe he was being a bit immature and should give books more of a chance, but they seemed so dull. Where was the fun in a book, where was the action?, the adventure? To the Welsh Gryffindor books were just for learning and simply could not hold his attention. To be honest he could not really fathom why anyone would willingly read them.

As his butty lectured him on not getting too distracted the youngster frowned a bit. He knew that the Hufflepuff was trying to be nice to him and help him but it was still slightly annoying. Still, he knew that Henry was doing it because he cared about him and that it was the sort of things friends would say to each other. He guessed. He continued to frown at Henry as he give him a lecture on about giving it a chance and not being so distracted. ”I I I try not to to to be too distracted” he protested ”I I do not do do do it on purpose.” he continued objecting to Henry’s analysis of his reading methods. It was not totally incorrect in what Henry was saying, not at all. It was probably very accurate. Dominic did get very easily distracted when reading, did struggle to concentrate and because of this, he did have to re-read the same lines over and over again. And that annoyed the boy, and it was irritating him that his friend was being so correct.

As the conversation moved onto brooms, the Welsh wizard felt a lot more relieved. He looked thoughtful when Henry asked if he was talented. ”I I I don’t knnooow” he said unsurely ”I I mean I don’t think that that I I am bad, but I II am not that good either. I I just want to to try out for for fun really” the Welsh lad gave a tiny shrug. B]”But I I I do like to to to fly I I practice it in a magical town in in Wales”[/b] he gave another small shrug.

Maybe somewhat surprisingly, Dominic was not too upset or hurt by Henry’s comments on his Quidditch skills. Maybe he didn’t fully take on board exactly what exactly the Hufflepuff lad was saying, but he did agree with him, seeker did seem to require some more concentration and patience and, if he was honest, he might not be suited to such a role. Dommie did admit such himself. So he supposed that it would have been very odd for him to get too ticked off from Henry over this. ”I think that that I I will try out to to to be a reserve chaser though. Flying is is is is fun in in any case anyway.” he smiled at his friend to show no hard feelings.

The little boy got very excited at the suggestion of a joke shop. ”Ooo ooh ooh I I I could buy so many pranks for for for people, and and and and maybe even train you to to to to to prank people.” he was eager to make Henry into sort of a prank apprentice but he felt that he knew the Hufflepuff well enough by now to know that it was very unlikely. Henry was not a prankster type. He was such a goody-goody in Dominic’s opinion.

”Oooh, oooh, oooh…” he said equally as excited at the prospect of seeing animals ”….that would be be be too cool. If if if if I am honest I I I want to to to to get a a a cat or or or something…” he said jumping up and down a bit on his heels. ”That could be be be cool and and ad it it could be be be good to to to to get to to do a a bit of of research on any animal hunting we we we might do when we we we are back at Hogwarts,” of course, if the 11-year-old boy was honest his animal hunting was more of an excuse to explore some hidden parts and passageways of the school. The Gryffindor had managed to use to opportunity to search for hidden passageways on the pretence of hunting unusually creatures. Not that he didn’t want to hunt for those animals either. He toyed with coming clean with his friend, but in the end, decided against it. The last thing Dominic wanted to do was risk his friendship with his fellow soon-to-be second year. Perhaps it was cowardly and unGryffindor of the boy, but he did not want to risk losing his mate.

He smiled at Henry as he re-assured him ”I I I can't wait to to meet the the the next first years and and and to to to help them out as as as much as I I can and and and teach him all those things about Hogwarts that that other won’t tell them about. Warning them about the Frankenteins, and and the the Tharali and and and the the foamaand and the the like of of of those” it would be amazing to be the wiser older student in Dom’s opinion.

Unlike Lizzy, unlike Carin, and very unlike Henry himself, Dominic came from a healthy and whole family and that could be the most startling thing for him. Family was something precious to Henry, something he revered. All the family he had was his auntie and he loved her for being all his other relation in one. She was his mother, father, sibling, all in one, someone to look up to and someone he could trust blindly. And yet, there were holes — or rather gaps, for it wasn’t like he felt irreversibly deficient, just lacking — that she couldn’t fill and neither could his friends. He knew nothing about his mother and his father was more a source of fear and questioning than anything else. With all probability, things would always be that way, and he had to live with it. The past twelve years had shown he could live with it. So it didn’t really trouble him most of the time. But when he was with Dominic and heard about how he spent time with his parents and cousins, it remained at a certain point inexplicable.

Certainly, he hadn’t exactly had the best of impressions of Amy that one time he had met her in the common room. In fact, he usually forgot she was related to Dominic and Donald. He had simply adopted the strategy of not thinking about her, which had been pretty easy to do. But it also meant that he got a little startled every time his friend mentioned her. Then his idea of how a family was supposed to interact went to war with how he imagined Amy was when provoked. He also hadn’t understood at all why the Gryffindor had decided to tease her — the danger not taken into account. He couldn’t exactly say he liked Amy — she had been too scary for that — but it still was rude to annoy her for no reason, if he had understood his year mate correctly.

“Ah, you did…” he said confusedly, looking at his friend with incomprehension. Being chased by Amy sounded frightening to him, but at the same time, he couldn’t say Dominic hadn’t provoked it, so for once his compassion was very limited. “It’s nice you were having fun,” he concluded without much conviction. Nothing about it had sounded like fun to him. “Weren’t your parents — was the food good?” Don’t judge, he said to himself. Don’t act like you know everything better. It isn’t like that. These are family dynamics that exist between cousins. It’s normal even if it’s completely and insanely incomprehensible.

He was afraid he was already criticizing Dominic more than he should anyway. Or not really criticizing. That was not how Henry meant it. But it was obvious to him that the Gryffindor was suffering from how he was and in the case of books sooner or later would suffer severe drawbacks in school. They already had had to read a lot for classes in their first year, not to speak of all the essays they had to write, ands the workload would only get more and more as they grew older. His friend couldn’t outrun his problem forever but sooner or later would come face to face with it. And it’d be better if he’d take the initiative there, in Henry’s opinion. “I know you don’t,” he said sympathetically. “Have you talked to your parents about it? Maybe they know something to help you concentrate.” He couldn’t think of nothing he hadn’t already suggested, so he saw no other possibility than to ask for help elsewhere. And the parents seemed like a good way to start to him.

“Fun’s important,” he agreed but felt compelled to add, “A lot take Quidditch very serious, though. I’m not sure whether they’d take you on the team if you say it’s just fun. Quidditch is a very important business for the house teams.” He wasn’t one hundred percent on board with the amount of dedication that the teams had, but he was also convinced that if Dominic went to try-outs and said he was there for fun, he wouldn’t make himself that popular among his fellow Gryffindors. The sport was too important to be taken this lightly, that much even he could understand.

He was glad that Dominic hadn’t got angry at what he had said about Seekers. The Gryffindor tended to get cross very soon, though he was able to uncross about as quickly so that they had never ended up actually fighting for which Henry was very thankful. Still, he didn’t want to insult his friend’s feelings, no matter how unreasonable it might be of him. But in this case here, he would have understood. Maybe Dominic was actually making a progress in getting more control over himself. That’d be a very positive development for him. “Yes, that’s a good plan, I’ll keep my fingers cross for you,” he said. “If they aren’t playing Hufflepuff, I’ll be for Gryffindor!”

“I don’t want to prank people,” he said, annoyed at his friend’s train of thought and accidentally letting it sip into his voice. “That’s stupid. I’m sure they also have stuff that’s not about hurting others.” Why was the other boy always so eager to “prank”? Henry couldn’t understand. And he did not want to. He had told Dominic so several times already. He hated to have to repeat himself on a topic that he found so revolting.

He sighed with relief when the Gryffindor reacted with even more (and in Henry’s opinion) far healthier enthusiasm. They wouldn’t go to the joke shop today if he could avoid it, he secretly decided. “Yes!” he said, even more eagerly than he would normally have done just because he was so glad that they had a mutual interest again. “You should. That’s a brilliant idea. Cats are the best. Very, very best. I mean, I would have brought Gunther today, but he doesn’t really like that to go out so-” He breathed deeply. Gunther was for once beside the topic. A little bit at least. He’d certainly find a better time to talk about his cat. Maybe when they were in the shop. He could help judge what might be a good cat. “We’ve got to do all of that. Do we want to first go to the Menagerie and see if you find a cat you like? Or have your parents allowed to buy a cat on your own?” Exploring would be more difficult if they had to take care of a cat at the same time. But they’d lose time to look at the animals if they put this last, so it was an important point. Parents had to be asked. He always (well, almost always) asked his auntie before an serious decision. And acquiring a cat certainly counted as a serious decision.

“Dominic!” he exclaimed, alarmed. “Haven’t your cousinss explained this? Frankenstein is a Muggle story. That’s not real. You can’t horrify children with things like that. That’d be cruel.” He wouldn’t ask what the other things mentioned were, he had learnt that much by now that the interesting info that he might get in the progress was nothing compared with the confusion that was certain. The thing that mattered was that Dominic wanted to talk of something as real that he should know wasn’t. And that was very much not how a second year should behave towards a first year.

Family was something that was important to Dominic, of course, it was. Sometimes he might fight with his cousins or what not, or that they might appear mean to each other. But really they cared for each other, Dominic knew that Amy and Donald would both look out for him in the end, and he would do his best to look out for them as well. That is what family did after all. In many ways the young lad reflected on how lucky he was to have family members in Hogwarts, especially ones who were supportive of him and willing to help him when the chips were down. Dom knew that not many people had that available to them. It was something that the Gryffindor should probably make more use of in his second year.

The 11-year-old looked mildly amused at Henry’s confusion and lack of conviction. He supposed that his relationship with his cousins could look a little odd from the outside. Dominic did talk negatively about Donald sometimes, but he still liked him and cared about him and wanted to see his Ravenclaw kin do well. Amy. While she could be a bit hot tempted at times, she also looked out for him like a big sister at times, and he looked up to her a lot. The little boy wondered if he should tell his cousins this from time to time.

”Well, we we we were not by by our parents when we we we started to to annoy her and she made her threat” he pointed out matter-of-factly. ”our parents would have have told us offfor for annoying her.” that was true. The parents would have spoilt their fun, or stopped it from getting out of hand. ”The the the food was nice though” he said with a grin on his face ”I I always like picnic food, it it it is always fun. Oooh ooh ooh have have you ever been on a a a picnic?” he asked his friend getting more and more excited towards the climax of the question.

Yet again, his close friend was a bit critical of him. It really did irritate Dominic when the Hufflepuff did this, but he understood that Henry was doing it with the best of intentions. He wouldn’t let it get to him, or at least try and not let it bother him in any case. ”What like a a a potion or or or something?” he frowned a bit. Even if the lack of concentration was a bother, it didn’t really appeal to the 11 year old to have to rely on medication to keep him calm. ”ooh ooh ooh or or or did you mean some kind of of of meditation technique like a a a monk??” he still didn’t think that he really needed any help to calm down or to concentrate.

”Well I I I know that many people take quidditch super serious. Donald is is one of of of them. He is is is the Ravenclaw seeker and and and believes that that quidditch is a a a serious thing and and takes his positions very very very seriously.” he nodded with understanding. ”I I I I mean that that that I disagree with with him on on that idea. I I I mean sports are are meant to to be fun right?” he wondered if he was being correct in saying that. the young blond lad thought he was talking sense. ” But I I I won’t voice that opinion in in front of of of my house mates” he told the boy in a reassuring voice.

”Thanks” he said with a small smile to Henry. He knew his friend meant no harm with his comment and, despite how he might appear at times. Maybe, just maybe, he was maturing. Slowly but surely.

When his butty said that he did not want to prank people and rolled his eyes, it did irritate Dominic that Henry seemed to get so offended by this suggestion. ”It it it is not stupid…” he said sounding very irritated. Dominic felt a bit offended that Henry called something that he enjoyed stupid. ”…and it it it it is not about hurting people. You you you can pull a a a prank on someone that that does not hurt them.” he didn’t understand how Henry could see a prank could be harmless. ”Aaand, it it it was you that that suggested a a a joke shop in in in the first place” he pointed out not entirely unfairly in his opinion.

Dominic was glad that the conversation had moved onto something that was less contentious between the pair. The little boy did not want to fight with his friend especially as they not seen each other all summer. ”I I know, you and and and Amy have cats and and and they are both excellent. Ooh ooh ooh you you you can help me choose a a a cat, since you you you like cats and and are an an expert on on on them.” he was hoping that this would help to appease the Hufflepuff from any ill feeling from the prank topic.

”I I...probably need to to to to have my my parents with me when they they buy it. I I am not sure that they would like me buying a a a cat without their permission or or them seeing it it it first” while the Welsh wizard would be perfectly happy to buy a cat right away, but he also did not want to get into trouble with his parents. Especially the kind of trouble he would get into if he showed up home with a cat he just bought. ”But it it it would be nice to to to pick one out first” he agreed.

”Oh….” he said a bit of surprise and realisation ”…wait they were were being serious when they they said that?!?” he started to feel a bit silly ”…I I I thought that their brains had been invested by by by some sort of of mind worm that that was making them tell porkies.” he turned bright red. Suddenly he understood why Donald looked hurt when he told him he should shove his head in a bowl of water for five minutes and hold his breath.

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The way Dominic and his cousins interacted, maybe that was normal? He didn’t have any siblings or cousins, and even Lizzy’s and Carin’s brothers were so much older that everything was completely different of course. They still seemed to like each other and be a family, so it wasn’t actually disturbing. It confused him a bit, but that was it. He didn’t have to understand everything as long as he could be sure his friend was okay with how things were.

Still, Henry was torn between being shocked that Dominic would annoy his cousin and that this cousin was none other than the intimidating Amy, whose acquaintance he wished in hindsight he had never made — not because she had done anything to him, in a way she had actually been nice, but it hadn’t felt good talking to her. And that was the weirdest feeling imaginable during a conversation. “Oh, well, I guess that explains it…” He trailed off. That they wouldn’t be near their parents all the time wasn’t that weird, now that he thought about it. When he went to a park with his auntie, for example, he also sometimes ran off and did things on his own until he rejoined her. It made sense that Dominic and his cousins would do the same. “With my aunt, yes, sometimes,” he said. “You mean like putting food in a basket and then go to a park and sit on a blanket. That’s fun. And Aunt Gigi’s food is always good.” After all, his aunt was perfect, so how could it not?

Maybe he should also ask her about what Dominic could do to concentrate better. But maybe he should ask his friend’s permission first; it’d be somewhat rude to talk about him without him knowing. And Henry wasn’t a hundred percent sure how well the Gryffindor would respond to the idea of him discussing his problems with someone he didn’t know. For the time being, it might be better to leave matters be. “Yes, for example,” he said. “Aren’t their apothecaries in your family? So they’d know. But meditation sounds good too! I’ve never tried. I mean, apart from how Gunther meditates. Like lying in the sun, on the floor and doing nothing. Like cats meditate. Have you ever tried cat meditation?” That word maybe didn’t exist. Well, it definitely should. He had learnt a lot from Gunther, and he’d recommend his cat’s lessons to everybody.

“I agree,” said Henry. “Quidditch should be fun. But-” He sighed and smiled wryly at his friend. “We still all want our house to win, don’t we?” It was a bit stupid that winning was this important, but then it couldn’t be helped. It wasn’t fun to lose a Quidditch game. And a lot of the students on the teams wanted to become professionals after school, so they couldn’t afford not to give their best. Maybe they should instal some fun flying time outside of Quidditch, just so that flying wouldn’t always be about competition. Because sometimes it had to be. He wouldn’t want Hogwarts without the Quidditch games. “I’m sure they wouldn’t be angry with you or anything,” he replied. “Just if you want to get on the team, I think captains expect people to be crazily dedicated. It’s a huge responsibility too, playing for our house, don’t you think?”

Henry had to press his lips together to keep himself from angrily retorting that, yes, pranking people was stupid. But it was also stupid to argue. He didn’t want to argue. But he also really didn’t want to prank anyone, and Dominic did not seem to understand this. “I didn’t suggest going to the joke shop for pranks,” said Henry defensively. “They also have other stuff like Firework. That’s not for pranking. I didn’t say anything about pranking, I only suggested that we look around. But if-” No, he would stop going on and on about why he thought something that his friend enthused so much about was stupid. It wasn’t like he thought Dominic was stupid, certainly not mean. Just sometimes his actions… well, he didn’t have to understand the Gryffindor all the time and in every situation. There were enough occasions where they agreed, and that was enough. After all, they were friends and could deal with not always being of one mind.

It was pretty obvious that changing the topic to cats was always beneficial to any conversation. Cats were the best, there could be no argument made against this universal truth, and he was glad that they had managed to lighten the mood between him and Dominic. He didn’t want to quarrel. Maybe he was a little too sensitive where pranking was concerned? He shouldn’t be that judgemental… at least he knew what he was talking about when they were talking cats. “Sure,” he said, beaming. “The most important thing will be that you and the cat get along. I’m sure there’ll be one with which you become friends immediately, and this will be the right cat. Just wait and see!” Gunther had been a part of his life for as long as he could think, but he was nevertheless sure that this had to be the perfect and infallible method for choosing a cat.

He nodded understandingly. “Yes, parents like to be asked for their opinions,” he said. “I always do the same with my aunt. And a cat should get along with the whole family, so they should say hello first.” Not that he thought that there were many cats to which many people would say no to. His parents would certainly agree to the animal they’d decide on, but it was politer to ask, instead of just decide. “I should have taken Gunther with me,” he said, scrunching his face at the missed opportunity. “He could have helped looking for a friend. But Auntie doesn’t think it’s a good idea to take him everywhere. And he doesn’t like it that much either. He likes being at home.” But whoever Dominic would pick would nevertheless get along with Gunther. Henry was there to help him decide, and Gunther couldn’t dislike a cat Henry approved of.

“Of course they were serious!” Henry replied still a little heatedly but his annoyance soon fading at Dominic’s surprised expression. He should not have assumed for one second that his friend had any intention of terrorizing students. As sceptical as he was of the Gryffindor’s enthusiasm for pranks, he should know better than to ever think Dominic would consciously terrorize someone, especially a first-year. Of course, he’d come up with new explanations of his own for what he was being told. “Donald told me months ago that it’s from a Muggle book,” he said with all the graveness that according to his judgement the situation demanded. “I asked him because I thought he might have more information on the monster. Because, you know, I thought it’s dangerous and everything and should be prepared. And then he told me and said he’d tell you too.” He wouldn’t comment on the mind worms. There were a lot of magical things that could toy with the brain, and Henry knew little to nothing about them. But he’d have heard of such worms. At least he hoped he would have, considering how much time he had already spent in the Magical Creatures section of the library to prepare for their excursions.

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