BROTHERHOOD ⟶ Harry Potter

Chapter Twenty-Two

With the Christmas holiday upon them, Milo found himself in a very pleasant mood. Things seemed to be getting better for the boy, even if he wasn't where they wanted them to be. He had made some progress with Harry. They weren't hanging out or anything but there wasn't that cold glare anymore that Milo had been met with in the beginning. He was grateful that Hagrid had invited him for tea that evening as it seemed to open up the start of a friendship between the two brothers. But in the meantime, between small waves and the exchange of quiet hello's with Harry, Milo had plenty to keep him busy. 

Cedric was making sure that Milo was going to perform well during the first match for Hufflepuff. Harry had managed to pull off a successful win and while it seemed that Cedric was mainly focused on the team doing well, he actually wanted Milo to do well. The boy was self-conscious that he wasn't good enough and with his own father once being a Chaser, Milo was going to put plenty of pressure on himself. To make matters worse, his brother, the boy who lived, was now well known for his amazing quidditch skills after the first match of the season. 

But Milo was being stolen from him by the Weasley twins and Lee as they wanted him to join in their escapades. They believed that having Milo with them would lessen the punishment, especially if they were caught by Professor McGonagall, but Milo knew better. However, they just really enjoyed his company and would drag him away for the times of fun. 

Milo felt like he was being dragged in so many different directions when it came to his friends, that he was hardly walking on his own it seemed. To escape one afternoon, Milo waited until Fred and George were preoccupied with the jinxed snowballs that they were launching at Professor Quirrell's head as he walked around. 

He wanted to go find his mother and talk to her about the upcoming holidays, he was sure they were going to be spending it in Hogsmeade, but he wanted to talk to her about inviting Harry. Normally, Christmas was spent with Madam Rosmerta and Gwen, sometimes even his uncle Malcom would come over with his children, but they didn't do it very often. But that year with no plans really set in motion besides the usual ones, Milo was hoping that Harry could join them and actually have a nice Christmas. Something that the boy was sure Harry was not receiving in the Dursley household, but once again, Milo knew what it was going to come down to, if Harry wanted to join them or not. 

As he rounded the corner to head to his mother's office, he nearly crashed into another student but at the last second, he side-stepped, able to catch himself before the collision. However, that didn't seem to be enough fo the girl that was left glaring at him.

"Watch it!" She snapped. 

Milo had friends in Slytherin and perhaps he was one of the few that didn't believe the house was full of just evil students, but the first year students that had arrived that year were making it incredibly hard to think against the stereotype. He recognized the girl, one that would hang off of Draco's shoulder, along with the other two bricks of stupid that would follow the boy around.

Pansy Parkinson was her name, a short girl with dark brown hair and a mean look plastered to her face that hid the fact that she was actually pretty. However, the mean face was not one that did anything good for her appearance.

"You should take your own advice," Milo told her. "Unfortunately, neither one of us have the ability to see through stone, leaving it to be a poor situation that we happen to be rounding the same corner at the same time. No need to be nasty about it."

She seemed surprised by the fact that the boy lashed back ever so quickly, but he didn't do it in a rude manner either. In fact, she suddenly felt like she was being scolded by a male version of McGonagall. For a moment, Pansy was speechless while Milo looked away from her, messing with his hair.