InsaneJournal

Title: The Early Days of the Three Musketeers
Character Pairing: Caradoc Dearborn/Sturgis Podmore
Prompt: "unidentified falling object."
Rating: G
Word Count: 545
Summary: "Caradoc Dearborn and Sturgis Podmore meet by accident on the train in their first year."
Author's Notes: They're first years. The slash is going to happen eventually, but right now, it's borderline gen. Blah blah, based on dontsayaword canon; Sturgis is musify's and Ted is venezia's.
Link to Prompt Table: Over yonder!

Caradoc Dearborn and Sturgis Podmore meet by accident on the train in their first year. Already cut loose from Mum and Dad (and summarily abandoned by Raichéal, who had some fifth-year codeword for snogging on her lips), Sturgis's first move is to look for an empty compartment with Ted Tonks, the Muggleborn boy Sturgis helped get through the barrier. At least Ted wanted to hang around with him. Finding a compartment is much easier with someone beside him. Just when they think they find one, complications arise once more. Both of them stick their heads through the door, testing the waters to see if it's as empty as it looks -- and then something tallish and gangly-limbed falls from nowhere, making a noise sort of like a yelping crash. Ted startles and jumps back into the opposite wall; all Sturgis can do is stare. For several moments, neither of them look anywhere else. ...Sturgis hasn't ever seen something like this before. Is it going to do a trick? "Does this normally happen with Wizards?" Ted prods cautiously. "Not usually, no," Sturgis answers slowly. Is the something just going to lay there? Or is this some sort of test for the new first years? Suddenly, it rolls onto its side, revealing a boy about Sturgis and Ted's age, with rather untamed brown hair going well past his ears. He groans but, immediately upon seeing Ted and Sturgis, springs up and bounds over to them. "'lo, friends!" he says brightly. "Caradoc Dearborn, Soho born, Cotswolds raised, heretofore unsorted first year, and very pleased to be making the acquaintance of..." "Ted Tonks!" Ted grins, emphatically shaking Caradoc's hand and his entire face lighting up like Christmas at the offer of a new friend. "Born and bred in St. Alban's, Hertfordshire!" When Caradoc turns expectantly to Sturgis, he introduces himself pleasantly but it's not until they shake that he decides this boy is going to be one of his best friends. Between him and Ted, the train ride goes by quickly. By comparison, the Sorting Ceremony and welcome dinner drag by: as soon as Caradoc gets Sorted into Gryffindor and Sturgis into Hufflepuff, something about it all just feels wrong. Sitting next to Ted under the black and yellow banner and the badger insignia helps somewhat, but Sturgis keeps looking over to the Gryffindor banner, picking Caradoc out among the other first years, and wishing they could sit together. A week later, Sturgis is still sore about this, to the point that he's not watching himself on the stairs, even though he hasn't properly learned his way around them yet. It appears that someone else isn't either: whoever it is, he trips into Sturgis, knocking him backwards, and they roll down the stairs and only stop at the landing in the middle of the staircase. Looking up at the clumsy person on his chest, Sturgis is shocked to see Caradoc. "Well fancy that!" Caradoc remarks, giving Sturgis a big, brilliant smile from his place on Sturgis's chest. "I've been looking for you. ...You're really hard to find for being so tall. Did you know that?" At lunch, Caradoc ignores his Prefect to sit with Sturgis and Ted. Sturgis knew he was right in thinking they'd be best friends.