Courtland Thatcher - Gryffindor House
Joined: 6/7/03
Origin: London, England
The estate in the small village on the outskirts of London that
contained the Thatcher family had become a madhouse. Tabitha Thatcher
was seven months pregnant with her fifth child; Scarlotte Thatcher was
concerned about her future after Hogwarts and her budding love life
(making it loudly known whenever she had a chance). Landon Thatcher was
busy making plans for how he could prank the nasty potions professor,
Swishbuckle (�I�ve finally got those 52-hour dung-bombs I sent for!�).
And then there was Courtland Thatcher. Courtland was the least noticed
of the four, and he was busy deciding what he should do with himself
during the long Christmas break.
It was Christmas break of his first year at Hogwarts School of
Witchcraft and Wizardry. His twin brother Landon had been put into
Slytherin, his sister was a Ravenclaw, and he was a Gryffindor. The only
boy he had ever known his own age was Landon and now they weren�t
together. He was always the quieter of the two, the one getting into
less mischief, the less cunning, and the one always following. One
would think him the more powerful of the twins as he was oldest
by nearly five minutes and taller by half an inch, but that just wasn�t
so. Landon was the natural born leader, the one who was going to build
his life around this particular trait, whereas Courtland would spend
the rest of his life deciding what to do next.
Courtland was having a difficult time fitting in with his fellow
housemates. He was spoiled and smug, but truly a kind heart who would
stand up for what he believed in. The only problem was it
was so much easier to do that when he had his brother to start the
protests. The truth was he didn�t really know how to behave with
others as his life had been so sheltered in many ways up until now.
He was now around new people and he didn�t know how to treat them. He
was torn between spending all his time with his brother and getting
into trouble, a pasttime he had wanted to let go of, but was
too afraid to say, and starting with a new clean slate. Court had
desperately wanted to try and make new friends, boys he could better
relate to, ones with more similar interests than those of Landon's, all of which
seemed to have a demonic twist to them. �You�ve become all
sissified, you nit!� Landon said one morning over breakfast, giving
Court a sharp blow to the shoulder. Court rubbed his arm. �See? Only
sissies rub!� Landon punched him again and Court threw his toast at
his brother. He didn�t rub the second knock but still his whole arm throbbed.
�Knock it off.� Scarlotte warned harshly, picking the toast up and
throwing it into the trash. �Mum�s asleep!�
Courtland looked out the frost-tinted windows of the large eat in
kitchen, and sighed. They had found out the baby would be a girl,
something Court was actually excited about; he didn�t need another
brother. He and Scarlotte weren�t close knit, but they got along
better than she did with Landon. The two of them detested each other and it
was mostly Landon�s fault for any tiffs she and Courtland got into.
Landon grabbed his broom and went outside, muttering things like �That
wuss,� while Court and Scarlotte stayed in the kitchen. She was eating
oatmeal and reading the paper. He looked at her, studied her. They
had similar features, nicely tanned skin, thick and light blond hair,
though his was cut to his ears, parted in the middle and draped over to
the sides of his delicate face. Her eyes were ebony whereas his and
Landon�s were a hazel-green. She suddenly noticed his gaze and looked
up at him from across the table. �What?� She asked in an almost
agitated tone. He was startled and faltered for words. �Nothing.� He
said quietly under his breath and looked away. She sighed and got up
and sat beside him at the table that could easily accompany eight.
�You�re not a sissy.� She said and he nodded, looking again out the
window. Scarlotte's hand came up and pushed his morning-tangled hair
out of his face. He suddenly felt very grateful to have a sister, as
nasty as she was sometimes. He was, at that moment, thankful more now
than even that the baby was going to be a girl. She had been left to
care for the boys for the most part of the vacation since their father
was always working and their mother was forever sleeping.
�What do you think of the baby?� He asked her. He knew it was a
touchy subject and he took that well into consideration, but he had to
know for sure if she really hated the idea. There had been a sister he had never
met, one that had died a bit over a year before he and Landon had been born.
He knew things had been different when Scarl was a child, the Thatcher
family hadn�t always been so dysfunctional.
�I think mum is trying to replace something in her heart. I don�t
know, I think this summer is going to be louder than usual.� She said
almost jokingly, though she was very serious. He nodded.
�You scared?� He asked her. He picked up the other hard piece of
toast on his plate and then dropped it again, just to hear it clunk
loudly on the ceramic.
She smiled kind of half-heartedly, leaning back in her chair and
looking at the ceiling. �I think I�m going to go groom Ravi.� She got
up and went to the doorway. The whole family was like that, always
making excuses, dodging every chance to get personal and talk about
feelings. All except Courtland. He just wanted to belong and be
happy. �Hey,� she said in the doorway. Court looked up at her. �Why
don�t you grab Olly and we can clean them together.� She said, sort of
hesitantly. She was trying, too. He nodded and half smiled back. She
left and went upstairs and he stayed down in the kitchen for another
moment. The sudden warm sensation that everything would be all right
swept over his small lean body as he got up to go prep his owl with his
sister.
|
|
|
