2016
“Where could he be?” Ron paced up and down the stairs of the joke shop.
“Will you stop stressing?” Hermione asked him, “I’m sure he’ll be back soon.”
“Did you just ask me to stop stressing? Why are you not stressed?”
“Because I trust our son, Ron.”
“He is eight, Hermione.”
The family had gone Christmas shopping at Diagon Alley today and in the process had lost Hugo. He had been gone for about a minute now and Ron was losing his mind. Hermione found it quite amusing, how worried he was when she was sure their son was just roaming about the joke shop.
“He’s here somewhere, Ron,” Hermione tried to calm him down.
“How do you know?”
“Motherly instinct?”
Ron stopped his pacing for a second and glared at her before starting to walk back and forth again. He kept checking his watch and after 3 minutes of Hugo being out of their sight he took a deep breath, “Alright I’m gonna go look for him.”
“Dad, he’s been gone for like two seconds,” Rose groaned.
Ron ignored his daughter and pointed at his wife, “You stay here in case he comes back.”
“Yes, okay. If that will calm you down, I’ll stay here.”
“Thank you,” and with that, he was out the front door.
Ron was hit with the cold winter air and the masses of wizards and witches in the small Alley. Okay, where could he be?
He checked around the shop first but found nothing but an old prototype of a product they couldn’t put in store for endangerment reasons. Walking down the road he made sure to check every little corner twice. He would go to Azkaban before losing his son during Christmas shopping. What kind of father loses his son during Christmas shopping? His movement quickened and his mind drifted to all the places they had been before.
Flourish and Blotts? No way, he said that place stank.
The Apothecary? He refused to set foot in that place.
Eeylops Owl Emporium? More likely since he was fascinated by magical creatures, but no. Hugo found birds strangely unsettling.
What if Hermione was right and Hugo was indeed somewhere in Weasley’s Wizard Wheezes? He loved that shop and it was the place they had last been to before he disappeared from their sight. Ron decided to walk back to the shop and hope for the best when he passed Magical Menagerie and spotted his son in the company of an old friend. If it weren’t for the fact that the friend was a half-giant, he would have for sure missed the pair.
Ron entered the shop and approached the two.
“Now that over there is a Niffler, right?” Hugo asked.
“Yer correct.”
“Hugo! There you are! We were worried,” Ron interrupted, “you can’t just disappear like that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry Dad, but I wanted to look at magical creatures. They are awesome.”
“That’s alright, but next time please tell us and then we can look at them together.”
Hugo nodded and Ron turned to Hagrid, “Thank you for making sure he is alright!”
“‘s alright,” Hagrid responds and ruffles Hugo’s hair, “this little guy ‘as a good eye fer magical creatures, can’t wait ter ‘ave ‘im in me class.”
Hugo beamed at the tall man before running over to his father.
“Did you hear what he said?” he whispered to Ron.
“Yes, I did,” Ron chuckled, “And he is right, you are gonna be awesome. You got your mother’s brain, you’re gonna be unstoppable. But now let’s get back to Mum and Rosie, okay?”
Hugo nodded and waved to Hagrid, “Goodbye!”
“Bye, little one!”
“I’ll see you around,” Ron smiled, “thanks again for making sure he’s alright.”
“Ner big deal.”
“Merry Christmas, Hagrid.”