Decked Out
Tango of the Tek variety grew up in a family of pureblood Gryffindors. The Tek’s were proud of it, finding bravery to be the best quality one could have. They were also all aurors, it simply ran through their veins.
That did not mean Tango was like them though.
From the moment he was born he did not fit in. His hair was light and his eyes bright blue, while his family mainly consisted of brown or black haired people with brown or green eyes. And he was not a pureblood, as his mother was a halfblood.
As he grew older, the white blonde got a darker shade, turning in a gingerish colour instead, but it was not the dark hair of his parents. It raised suspicion by his family who had begun muttering among themselves, saying that his mother might have cheated on his father and that he was a bastard son.
It stung for little Tango, he was only six years old at the time and was already shamed for the way he looked. Every time he looked into their mirror it screamed at him, yelling that he was ugly and that no one would love a ginger.
His family even went as far as to do a heritage test on him in St. Mungo’s, to see if he really was his fathers son despite the pleas of his mother.
He was indeed his fathers son, the ginger came from his mother whose grandmother was a Prewett, which were known for their gingerness.
Ever since it came out that he had the blood of the Prewett family, his family suddenly treated him like he was the best of the sons of Tek. Tango did not understand it at first, but after asking his cousins he gathered that they were an ancient pureblood line that consisted almost all out of Gryffindors.
But even despite all that, looking into a mirror never felt quite the same. And Prewett blood or no, his still stuck out like a sore thumb.
When he got to the age of eight it became apparent that his looks were not the only thing he differed from his family. While the others were outgoing and adventurous, he was reluctant and quiet.
One by one his cousins went off to Hogwarts and were all sorted into the house of the lion. And never had he felt more lonely than as he did now. All he could do was read and get taught how to behave like a well born pureblood; which meant his writing, his table manners, his way of conversation. And sometimes it was a nice distraction from everything around him. It did not matter that he was different, if he could act like the perfect pureblood, he would get sorted into Gryffindor anyway, that was pretty much guaranteed.
Only it was not.
The train ride to Hogwarts was a chaotic one. He quickly met another first year student who called himself Zed and together they fell into Impulse’s compartment. He had heard of Impulse before of course (who did not know the crazy Black’s son) but befriended him anyways, as his family would at least be a little bit proud of him for befriending a pureblood.
But nothing would satisfy them with what happened next.
When he got called up to the Sorting Hat his nerves were worse than ever before. He quickly sat down and the hat was placed onto his head.
“Hmmm yes yes, a Tek I see. Quite peculiar, I don’t see many of them like this… But you’re not like them, noooooo definitely not,” Tango’s anxiety spiked, why did he not get sorted into Gryffindor immediately? “I’m sorry, little one, but Gryffindor’s not the place for you I’m afraid. Better be, SLYTHERIN!”
The entire hall went silent, a Tek in Slytherin? That was unheard of!
He spared a look at his cousins as he walked to his new house and saw their mouths agape. Oh boy, he was in so much trouble!
The next day he got a howler, and then another the following day and then another the day after. All from his family and their disappointment in him. Worse thing was, even his newly sorted house treated him like a parasite. Everyone except for Zed and Impulse who were now a Gryffindor and a Hufflepuff.
Merlin he was jealous of Zed, but he would never admit that out loud.
Instead he joined his friends' antics, even being one of the worst sometimes. He did not care about reputation now, he was on his own from now on.
It was Zed who introduced him to one of his greatest passions actually; hockey. It did not matter if it was on a field or on ice, he played where- and whenever he could. He loved the Muggle sport above all, except for his passion for game designing and developing.
Which is the main part of this chapter after all!
Decked Out had started as a joke between him, Zed and Impulse. Where they would try to navigate their characters through a maze one of the three had made on a piece of parchment. It was meant to be an easy distraction during History of Magic, but it soon developed into something much much greater.
He began making plans surrounding the layout of the maze and even came up with power-up cards that helped you navigate it. After the cards came the monsters and after the monsters came the moving doors.
But it was just the three of them that played.
Until Joe’s pinball machine was introduced and after that the Friday night game night.
Impulse and Zed kept trying to convince him to introduce his game to the newcalled group the Hermits, but Tango chickened out every time. Instead he began to make his game more advanced and one-player only. He created a beating heart inside the maze that he now so lovingly called The Dungeon, along with other sounds like an icy wind that echoed through the halls.
In the end Impulse and Zed did win him over and he brought his game to the Friday night game night with the Hermits and co.
He got nothing less than positive feedback, everyone loved it. It quickly became the main event of the evening and everyone had to have run at least once. The scoreboard next to it showed the hermit's victory tomes; Etho on top of course but with Cub and Scar on his heels.
For the first time in his life Tango felt like he was worth something. Of course Impulse and Zed tried to convince him all the time and he was inclined to believe it, but with so many people complimenting him and his skills it was undeniable.
He was allowed to exist. The universe loves him.