Chapter Text
The sun gave its last breath of warmth as the season ended, leaving a crisp breeze in its wake. Leaves piled across the Hogwarts grounds. Students were bundled up with sweaters and cloaks to combat the change from the freedom of summer to the routine of autumn. Everything was painted in a warm glow and Wirt clutched his notebook as he put his thoughts into verses, poetry pouring from the frumpled boy’s heart.
It was the Ravenclaw’s favorite time of year. From the changing of the leaves to the warmth that a cup of earl grey tea brought him, it was a perfect muse. He often spent his time out on the grounds between classes, to enjoy the ambiance of the season and escape the toils of the day. Hogwarts was his home, but the sheer size of the castle and bustle of crowded students often left him overwhelmed. The grounds were his escape and peace whenever things became too much. He exhaled softly and further laid his back against the tree he sat under as he reflected on his first days back at school.
The sorting ceremony was just as amusing as it was every year, with each new student looking terrified or confident as they faced the raggedy hat. The Ravenclaw watched as a smaller boy with a round face was sorted into Hufflepuff and mused to himself if his younger brother would be placed in the same house. Greg never seemed like the type to be Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff suiting him the most, but the boy would woefully object.
“Look at me Wirt, I’m strong and brave! I have to be in Gryffindor!” He would puff out his chest, “Jason Funderburker will be put in Gryffindor too and we’ll rule the school.”
“Frogs don’t get houses, Greg,” Wirt sighed with a chuckle, “And Gryffindor’s are also chivalrous which means you need to stop stealing extra biscuits at dinner and share with the rest of us.”
“Ah, beans.” The boy snapped his fingers in retaliation. “Well, maybe I can make up for it by giving one to Jason Funderburker. And one to you brother-o-mine!”
“It’s a start,” Wirt muffled his hair with a smile, “Don’t worry about it too much Greg, the sorting hat will know where to put you.”
“Aye-aye captain Wirt!”
Wirt smiled at the memory, having no doubt that his little brother would grow to love whatever house he ended up in. Although, he would bet five pumpkin pasties on it being Hufflepuff. The rest of the week had gone uneventful, but Wirt couldn’t help but feel that pang of loneliness that hit him at the beginning of his fifth year.
Another year, with little to no friends and no one special to hold. Sure he had Sarah, but he wasn’t entirely comfortable sharing everything around her. After his brief, mortifying crush on her ended with him realizing it was only a phase, he felt uncomfortable around the fellow Ravenclaw. She insisted that she didn’t think any less of him and that she still wanted to be his friend, but Wirt had a hard time of letting go of his own awkwardness. He shared two of personal traits he never showed anyone besides Greg: poetry and clarinet. His feelings for her just sort of vanished, perhaps it was just his anxiety telling him to run as fast as he could from any type of change. Still, she was nice and continued to eat with him in the Great Hall but Wirt was left feeling lonely again.
Closing his notebook with a sigh, he gazed at the warm colors reflecting on the surface of the lake. Maybe he should try to open up more. It couldn’t hurt at least to look up from his feet when walking through the halls. With a bit more optimism he stood up, picked up his satchel, and turned back towards the castle.
Despite his optimism, his thoughts continued to race of how to meet people and his gaze shifted to the ground. He made it halfway towards the castle when a sharp tug on his robe sent him backward. Not being the most graceful wizard, Wirt fell to the ground with a grunt. Nose scrunching in anger, he looked for the culprit only to find a satisfied-looking pig.
“Wha-” He started.
“Waddles you scoundrel, “ A girl’s voice giggled cheerfully, “You can’t go whipping people off their feet, that just rude. You haven’t even asked him out yet!”
Waddles, the pig in question, oinked in response as he climbed onto Wirt’s lap. A pig on Hogwarts grounds? Was that even allowed?? Wirt sat up to see a Hufflepuff girl with curly brown hair and an absolute sparkle in her eyes.
“I must say Waddles, you do know how to pick them. He’s a cutie.”
“Mabel!” A distressed voice shouted in a hurry. “You can’t just let that pig wander off like that.”
He came to stop next to the girl and he held a striking resemblance to her. Must be twins. Double the trouble. Wirt huffed and blushed a little at the girl, Mabel’s, compliment. He looked curiously at the pig splayed contently on his lap. The pig oinked and licked his face, causing Wirt to sputter and wince.
“Mabel!” The boy hissed and jogged over to the crumpled Ravenclaw. “Not everyone wants to have Waddles up in their business. Sorry about this man, she’s a handful.”
Wirt had a feeling the boy wasn’t referring to the pig. He sighed and hiked himself up to a sitting position. It wasn’t that the boy disliked animals, he just was surprised by the sudden onslaught. Smiling softly, he scratched the pig between his ears. He lifted his head to look at the boy in front of him.
His hair was brown and curly like his counterpart. Its unruliness was tucked into a baseball cap with a blue pine tree front and center. His white shirt was unbuttoned and poked out of the collar of his sweater. A tie was notably missing from his collar, but from the dark blue pinstripes along his sweater cuffs and neck, he was a Ravenclaw. He bit his lip and a worry line was etched across his brow as he gazed from Wirt to the pig and back. Wirt blushed a little deeper.
Lord, he is kind of cute.
Wirt sputtered again and jumped to his feet, Waddles grunting in surprise. Did I really just think that?? God, Wirt get ahold of yourself. Wirt coughed awkwardly and mumbled an apology.
“Uh sorry, I was just caught off guard. It’s okay really. I-uh-um I am not a stranger to hyper siblings so I understand.” Wirt rubbed the back of his neck and looked down at Waddles. “He is a pretty cute pig so I can’t be too mad.”
A squeal was all the warning Wirt received before he was tackled again. From some strange miracle, Wirt managed to stay on his feet as the girl wrapped her arms around him from behind. He blushed again, but this time from embarrassment.
“You are just the sweetest!” Mabel squealed “You can call me Mabel, or the girl of your dreams.” She waggled her eyebrows. “I’m joking! Anyways, that’s Lord Dipping sauce and you’ve already met Waddles.”
“Oh my god,” her twin facepalmed “It’s Dipper, Dipper Pines. I apologize for the disgrace that is my sister, and the disaster that is her pet pig.”
Wirt’s face warmed more from hearing him speak. Dipper, huh? Guess he’s no stranger to odd names. It suits him though. Breathing out some, Wirt tried to compose himself.
“I-I’m Wirt, Wirt Pennington. I haven’t really seen you two around before. At least I d-don’t think I have.” Wirt hummed in thought.
“Well, Dipper is usually looking for weird stuff in the woods like the nerd he is. We’re fourth years though! Surprised you didn’t notice someone who is in your own house whomp, whomp.” She poked his cheeks.
“W-well I guess I just keep to myself a lot,” Wirt turned red. How selfish can you be? They’re a year below you but you didn’t recognize them! “But I’m sorry. I sort of prefer being in the background.”
The brown-haired boy, Dipper, smiled softly at Wirt. He put his hand on his shoulder and nonchalantly pushed his sister off him.
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I know how you feel,” He coughed awkwardly. “I tend to miss things that are right in front of me. It’s nice to meet you, Wirt. Sorry again, about my sister’s dumb pig.”
“Excuse you,” Mabel huffed. “Waddles is a loyal, Hufflepuff pig and he can be smarter than you on most days. Which is why I, the alpha twin, was put in Hufflepuff and you, the nerd, were put in Ravenclaw.”
The twins stuck their tongues at each other and Wirt chuckled. Greg and Mabel would get along just fine. He shook his head out of those domestic thoughts, he had just met them after all. They had certainly made a lasting first impression on him. He wanted to learn more about these quirky twins.
“Y-you mentioned the woods. Do you mean the forbidden forest?”
Dipper’s attention snapped away from his sister as his face lit up.
“Yes! Everyone says it’s dangerous, but instead of ignoring it we should try to understand it. That way we can help creatures that are sick or learn how to protect ourselves. Knowledge is the key to understanding mystery. So, I go into the forest and look into these creatures and study them. Now...I’m rambling and Mabel you should have stopped me. So, yeah, it’s sort of...what I do.”
He pulled the bill of his hat down some and turned a lovely shade of red. Wirt blushed and giggled at the endearing Ravenclaw in front of him. How had he not noticed him before?
“You’re very right,” Wirt started. “I’ve always been afraid o-of the un-unknown, but we don’t know what’s out there unless we look ourselves. Knowledge really is the key to understanding and conquering our fears.”
Dipper looked up and practically beamed. People putting up with his babbling was one thing but rarely had people listened to what he had to say. It felt good. Wirt was a good guy. And maybe a little too cute for his brain to work right. God, Dipper, you just met him so chill out.
Mabel pursed her lips as she looked back and forth between the two boys. Something was there that didn’t normally show between her bro-bro and other people. She pouted a little, knowing that Dipper must like this boy. She was ready to ask this dorky boy out in a flash. Alas, there are other fish in the sea for one Mabel Pines. Nobody needed someone more than Dipper and her eyes sparkled at the idea of matchmaking. Two adorable boys who were already made for each other. Her pout twisted into a smirk as she wrapped her arms around both boys.
“Hey, Wirt, why don’t we all eat dinner in the Great Hall together? I heard from the elves that it’s gonna be a good one.” She waggled her eyebrows. “Don’t worry, Waddles gets his own buffet in the kitchen by himself later.”
The pig oinked happily from the ground. Wirt laughed softly and nodded. “Sounds like a great idea. I look forward to it.”
Dipper, noticing his sister’s smirk, nodded hesitantly. He wanted to talk to Wirt more, but he was wary of Mabel’s antics. Regardless, Wirt’s blushing face was too hard to ignore.
“Yeah man, I will-uh-we will meet up with you. Yeah, we will.”
Mable snorted at her brother’s awkwardness. Oh yes, he was already in deep. Perfect. Now she had to think of a plan of action to make this ship sail. Dipper was lucky to have her around, honestly.
“Then it’s settled! We’ll meet you at the front of the Great Hall, Wirt. Now, I must be off to class, those mandrakes need all the cuddles they can get. Have a good day, Wirt!” She grinned and waved her fingers as she walked away.
“Yeah, I should get going to potions. Maybe I’ll see you around? Before, dinner I mean.” Dipper smiled softly and adjusted his cap.
“Yeah, maybe you will.” Wirt smiled back and both boys headed back to the castle and parted ways. Maybe this year won’t be so bad after all. Wirt’s smile stayed as he walked through the castle that didn’t feel quite as confining as it did before.