Laius [2014]
February 2014
He eyed the snitch, dancing in the corner of his vision, fluttering teasingly just out of reach, with frustration. Try as Laius might, he couldn't catch it, never mind that it had been spelled by his Dad not to exceed a distance of a few feet from his person. He could see the golden ball, but his fingers would just miss it by a hairsbreadth, the wings fluttering teasingly against him as it flitted away.
Unlike his eldest sister, Laius had never been good at quidditch, and certainly not as a Seeker. For all everyone lauded that he was his Dad's copy, he felt he fell short in every way that mattered. When he was growing up, his broom would never obey him, flying off into the distance with no rider, only coaxed back by his Dad’s charming cooes.
He wasn't sporty like his Dad, not as outgoing in general. He didn't enjoy playing pranks or sneaking around Hogwarts in the dead of night, getting detention or drawing any attention to himself. He didn’t excel in Defense against the Dark Arts, or even the Dark Arts like his Father. He wasn’t the top student, he’d never be a prefect or the Head Boy. He was nothing like his parents at all. Laius didn't hold a candle to the magical power and power either one of his parents possessed, it was as if all their less desirable traits had combined to create him.
Laius was quick to anger and slow to settle, although he tried not to outwardly show it. He was unlike his pleasant, sweet-tempered twin in that regard. Linus shared many of his traits, but they suited him better. His twin was made for slow walks in the garden, gentle coaxing to learn spells and patience. His lack of physical skills and the inability to control his magic didn’t seem to bother him half as much as it did Laius.
It wasn't that they did not have magic, no child of Thomas Slytherin and Harry Potter-Black would be weak, it was that they could not harness it. Something just didn’t click in their minds. Half the time, using a wand would result in the wrong spell coming out, even if the incantation had been perfect. It was infuriating and humiliating.
Now eleven years old, however, this lack of control proved less of a childhood mistake and more of a detriment. Even first years at Hogwarts could inject their will into their wands to make them obey. For Laius and Linus, however, their wands simply rebelled.
He hunched his shoulders as he heard a voice snicker behind him, laughing cruelly at Laius’ expense. He turned, watching as Attalie Selwyn sauntered up behind him, watching the snitch with a nasty glint in her pretty blue eyes. Stupefy him for having a crush on the most powerful witch in their year, he was only human, and the one thing he seemed to have inherited from his parents was a thirst for coveting power. The girl came to a stop before him, and with a quick movement, the snitch was crushed within her palm, the wings fluttering through her fingers. The girl smirked down at him, her smile turning a little less nasty, but no less smug and teasing.
“I thought we were going to go practice Runes together, Merlin knows you need my expertise. Yet, I get to the library, only to hear that you’re sulking on the pitch.” The girl spoke airily, her voice void of any annoyance, only amusement audible within it.
Laius scowled, crossing his arms. “I’m not sulking.”
His best friend let out a bark of laughter, squatting to slap her palm on his head, snitch and all. Laius frowned, rearing back, but the girl ruffled his hair aggressively. “Are too!” She sat down by his side, pulling back, leaving him with the task of untangling the snitch from his hair. “What’s got you in a mood, then?”
Sighing through his nose, giving up on the impossible task of fighting with his locks, Laius groaned a defeated noise. “I failed.”
The girl gave him a look. “Failed?”
“The DADA exam. The midterm one.”
Attalie blinked, before her eyes lit up, cackling noisily. The girl threw her head back, her blonde curls glinting in the sunshine as she made her amusement clearly known. “Oh, you are so going to get in trouble! The midterm? How can you even fail that? All we had to do was not blow up a feather!”
“And I blew it up, okay?” The girl howled with laughter at his expense, and Laius folded his arms with a huff once more. “I tried not to, I put only a smidge of magic in it, and it just went boom! Hey, Attie, stop laughing at me, Father’s going to be so mad!”
Her smile softened, as she nudged him with her shoulder. “Hey, don’t worry, you’ll get it some day. Your control just sucks, that's all. Like, really sucks, how do you fail a midterm?”
“Attie!”
She laughed daintily, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. “I believe in you, Lailai! One day, you’ll be the best Runes expert the world has ever seen, exploding feathers and all!”
Laius snorted, unable to even imagine such a future, but blushing at her words all the same. “Thanks, I guess- oof!” The breath was knocked out of his lungs harshly as a textbook, several inches thick, landed upon his lap. He looked up at Attalie with concern, meeting her sharkish grin.
“Well, if you want to even think of passing runes, you’re going to have to start now, or you’ll never be ready for it!”