The magical life of the not so magical Theodore Ward (bxb)

Chapter one

Theodore Ward had a strong aversion to family reunions (which his family unfortunately held multiple times a year), thought it was pretty callous of his mother to make him suffer through them even when he'd made his objections perfectly clear.

She just didn't believe him when he told her how uncomfortable they made him feel, and he couldn't flat out tell her why when she'd asked him, because admitting that he just couldn't stand being in his family's presence for longer than a couple of minutes just didn't really sound like a tactful answer.

It wasn't as if his family consisted of a bunch of insufferable people, (though there were a few unfortunate exceptions) it was quite the opposite really. They were nice and talented and magical and the latter is what really left Theodore as the odd one out. He was the black sheep of the family, and though he thought his uncle Frederick was more deserving of the title (the man was plain weird, borderline creepy, and a suspected furry in his spare time) he couldn't argue the fact that he too was different than his family.

Apart from some quirks he was pretty normal, and while there was nothing wrong with being normal, when the rest of your family could literally use magic, it tends to make one feel left out.

So, just like every reunion, his attention was solely on the delicious food rather than on any of his relatives. He was munching on the last piece of a chocolate muffin, a little out of sight, sitting against the old oak at the back of his garden, listening to the voices and laughter sounding faintly in the background.

They sounded happy, and it made Theodore feel even worse because he didn't like feeling envious, outright bitter towards them, but he was, and he was terrible at hiding it, so he figured that maintaining a certain distance would benefit everyone.

But a certain blonde haired, blue eyed boy clearly didn't think so. He sat down beside him, way too close for Theodore's comfort.

Gabriel Reid was in no way blood related to Theodore, but was his parents' unofficially adopted son and best friend of his oldest brother Silas. He always stayed at the Ward's residence during the summer (or any vacation, really) something to do with a bad home-situation, he was told when he'd asked, and he hadn't felt the need to ask them to elaborate.

Even after all the years he's known him,Theodore still only knew Gabriel superficially, but Gabriel seemed quite determined to change that, for some reason unbeknownst to him.

They sat in silence for a while, Gabriel perfectly relaxed, Theodore, not so much. He usually didn't mind silence,normally prefered it over idle chit chat, but this silence was too heavy, too uncomfortable, somehow. So he spoke, his voice scratchy from lack of speaking, "I'll give you ten pounds if you fetch me another muffin."

Gabriel looked at him in disbelief, "Your laziness has officially reached a new high, or should I say low."

"I'm not lazy, just very antisocial and not willing to risk having someone starting another conversation with me."

"Yeah, that makes you sound way better." Gabriel teased, chuckling.

"Oh, come on. You don't even have to get up! All you have to do your hocus pocus, Avada kedavra or whatever it is that you do," He didn't know why he was asking, he hated it when someone used magic around him. Maybe he just really wanted another muffin.

"Nah, I think it's time for you to start overcoming some fears. I can come with you to hold your hand, though, if you want." He looked smug, the bastard.

Theodore rolled his eyes, slightly bumped out that he didn't get his Harry Potter reference, nor wanted to do his bidding, "Thanks, but I guess I'll just starve, in that case."

Gabriel snorted and looked at him incredulously, "I counted, Theodore," he deadpanned, "Five donuts," he paused for dramatics, "Five."

The younger boy shrugged nonchalantly, but felt heat rush to his cheeks,"Sue me. My fast metabolism is about the only thing I got going for me, and I plan to take full advantage of it."

Gabriel's chortle was adorable, carefree and unrestrained. Theodore never laughed like that. "Living life to the fullest, I see," he said, "And with a high risk of developing type two diabetes."

Gabriel looked so joyful, his eyes shining brightly, his mouth curled up in his signature smile. Theodore had to look away when he felt his own lips start to form a smile of their own, but continued their stupid banter, "What can I say, I like to take risks."

"Yeah? What's the most risky thing you've ever done?"

"I once drank coke together with a couple of mentos, I'd say that's pretty risky."

Gabriel's laughter was almost contagious, "Do all your 'risks' involve food?"

"Preferably, yes."

Gabriel tilted his head slightly to the side, a mischievous look on his face, "Want to do something actually exciting?"

"The ghost pepper challenge? Because I can't handle spicy food all that well--"

"--Not involving food." Gabriel interrupted, smiling.

"Your offer suddenly lost all its appeal," Theodore deadpanned.

Gabriel rolled his eyes, "I'll feed you afterwards, I promise."

Theodore's eyebrows furrowed when he considered his proposition, "What did you have in mind?"

Gabriel got up and dusted himself off and offered Theodore a hand afterwards. With a warm smile he said, "Come with me and you'll find out."

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