Til Next Summer, Little Fox
‘Til Next Summer, Little Fox
Amari McNully was many things.
And a quitter wasn’t one of them.
When he first got into Hogwarts, he had his heart set on becoming a Slytherin. To be a Quidditch champion in his own right, much like his mother did when she used to go to school. She and his father taught him all about the sport wizards and witches can come together and bond over.
His parents even created a camp, so already he was ahead of the pack.
All that was left to do was to be placed in his dream House and bring honor to his family name.
Only… it didn’t pan out that way.
When the Sorting Hat declared he was to be a Hufflepuff, he was crushed. Even more so when his twin sister got into the House he wanted and she had no desire to play Quidditch.
He could sit at the Hufflepuff table dejectedly as others around him laughed and chattered amongst themselves.
When he went home that Christmas, he spoken to his mother about his feelings about the entire thing. Talking to her always made him feel better.
Which it did.
Not only did he feel more at peace about the House he was placed in but also he made a little discovery.
An old mentor from his time at camp, a great friend to his parents, was a Hufflepuff alumni herself.
He always remembered the woman fondly.
Judith Winger. A witch with a strict training regime but with a heart of gold to match her eyes. She mainly trained with his team, the Freddie Foxes, which was the considered to produce the toughest team of Beaters.
She always applied pressure on them to hone their skills but was fair enough to stop and talk to someone if they were in a foul mood or they were pushing themselves too hard.
Amari always remembered little tidbits about herself she would share with him.
“My Papa used to be a Beater himself, teaching me some general basics while he was still alive.”
“I always used to meditate or go broom surfing in a quiet place before a match. A still and quiet mind can help in the long run.”
“You know if you asked your mom, she could probably show you the letterman jacket I designed for her when we were in school. I made one for her, Erika, Phoenix, and I with our house colors to wear around. Even with our nicknames inscribed on the back.”
“My gold fangs were a signature trade mark when I was school. My nickname was Tigress on the Quidditch Pitch.” “And you were Little Tigress outside of it!” “DAVID! FOR THE MILLIONTH TIME, I’M NOT LITTLE, YOU STUBBORN GIT!”
He enjoyed having Miss Judith as a mentor, and he could tell that she enjoyed having him as a mentee. She even gave him a pet name.
“Whatchu up to, little fox?”
“Can I help you little fox?”
“Aye, watch the sass there little fox before I made you run three laps around the track.”
One of Amari’s cherished items was a picture from when he was kid.
It was the last day at Camp Cassiopeia. The kids were free to do what they wished and Amari wanted to train with his favorite mentor before he leaves. Miss Judith was always down for some training.
Just as they were heading to store their bats, his mum appeared with a camera in hand, looking to capture some last minute memories of camp that year.
Not wanting to take a picture by himself. He looped his arm around the crook of Miss Judith’s elbow with a laugh.
“Come and take a picture with me, Miss Judith!” He remembered giggling as he said this. Giving a bright, happy expression to the camera lens, he gave his mother a peace sign before she took the picture. Katriona smiled at the pair as she snapped the picture before disappearing to make copies.
Before everyone left, his mum was able to print out the pictures. Before Judith could leave with her husband, Amari ran to find his favorite mentor.
“Ready to go, darling,” Talbott asked his wife, hugging her close while placing a soft kiss on her lips. Before she could reply, she heard a familiar voice calling out to her.
“Miss Judith, Miss Judith! Wait for a second!” Pale gold eyes glanced over to find a familiar styled mop of blonde hair hurdling up to her. Turning around with a smile, Judith stopped to see what the young McNully wanted.
“Hey there, little fox. How can I help you?” Amari stood in front her and her husband, panting to catch his breath before producing the photo of them, along with a pen.
“I-I was wondering if you can sign this before you go…” Judith took ahold of the physical evidence of her little fox catching her by surprise by having her take a picture with him.
The bright happiness that danced in his gray irises and the amused, confused shock reflecting in her own made her and Talbott smile. Tapping the pen against her cheek, she looked down at the young boy with careful thought before writing her message.
“Here you go, little fox.” Amari took back to the picture back to see what she wrote. He half expected to just see her name, but was pleasantly surprised to find a little message just for him.
‘Let people underestimate you… That gives you the chance to embarrass them! ‘Til next summer, little fox. - Judith Winger’
The young boy beamed at her before give her quick bear hug. Judith was happy to return it, ruffling his blonde locks before releasing him.
“Bye, Miss Judith and Mr. Talbott! See you next year!”
Amari forgot all about his little memento until after coming home from Christmas. When he discovered that his own teacher was a Hufflepuff herself. Going through his box filled with his old camp stuff, he found the photograph. It made him laugh a bit because she mainly wore her House colors, she couldn’t be more obvious if she tried.
Judith took pride that she was a Hufflepuff, and a fierce Beater to the boot. She wasn’t always a Quidditch champion but she was fantastic player to be remembered.
Before leaving to go back to Hogwarts, Amari made sure to keep the photo in his bag. While in the train ride back, he took out the picture and let her mentor’s words written in her neat handwriting sink it his mind.
“I will do just that, Miss Judith. I hope I make you proud…”
Whenever Amari felt down, or overlooked, he would take out the picture from that fateful summer and remember her words.
‘Let them underestimate you… That gives you the chance to embarrass them!’
Talk to Amari McNully nice, or you might lose with a resounding “Checkmate.”
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And she is back at it again with another one! I’m not 100% yet but I felt inspired to do another drawing with a quick short story.
I did an old drawing of this by hand awhile back but I wanted to do a better job this time. I just turned 22 and have a new program to work with, let’s see the growth, let’s see the improvement.
And now here we are.
I hope you like your surprise @kc-needs-coffee ! Also a short classic David and Judith interaction, even when they’re much older @that-scouse-wizard 🤣