Inell's Fanfiction Archive

When Stan is seven, he is teased and called names by his classmates in primary school every day. One boy, in particular, loves to make fun of his ears and calls him ‘Dumbo’. Stan doesn’t really understand the name, but the children with Muggleblood all laugh, so he knows it must not be nice. He goes home and tells his mum about the teasing and declares quite loudly that Muggleborns are awful, though he uses a word that he overheard an older boy using. He doesn’t understand how blood can be muddy, but he knows Joseph Carter is mean and deserves to be called names.

His mum doesn’t agree, however, and he ends up blowing bubbles out of his mouth when she’s done with the nasty tasting soap. It works, though, because he knows he’ll never say that word again. It doesn’t change his mind about them because he has to hear their teasing every day and sometimes hears their laughter about his ears and his teeth even when he’s alone. ‘Dumbo’ follows him during the next two years. He gets used to it eventually, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Fortunately, most of them don’t find it as funny as they get older, so the taunts become less frequent. Carter is just a bully, his mum says, and deserves a right hard smack to his bum.

Stan is nine when his mum surprises him with a trip to Muggle London. They can’t afford to even go to Diagon Alley often, so it’s a rare treat to go into City Center. They ride a bright red bus, which is Stan’s favorite part of these rare trips. He likes to stand near the front and watch the driver, muttering his commentary on all the automobiles that seem to move so slowly. If he were the driver, he’d just run right over them all, he decides. His mum smacks the back of his head several times when he gets too loud, but that never fazes him for long.

When they arrive at their stop, he looks around eagerly. It’s a cinema, he recognizes, and he starts bouncing on the heels of his feet. He’s only been to the cinema twice before because mum says it costs too much. In the years since father left them, money has to pay for food and clothes that are often from the resale shop near his mum’s job. She counts out the Muggle money while he looks around and tries to figure out what film they’re going to watch. He notices her put only two coins back into her pocket, so he doesn’t mention soda or popcorn even though his tummy growls at the buttery scent. Their seats are in the middle, and the one in front of his is broken so he kicks it to make it squeak until his mum warns him to be good.

Stan doesn’t like it when his mum is angry with him, so he tries to settle down. Finally, the film begins, and his eyes widen when he sees the title. He looks at his mum with betrayed horror, unable to believe she’s brought him here. She tells him to watch, so he does so, but he makes sure to sulk enough for her to notice. However, he quickly forgets sulking as the animated elephant begins to have one adventure after another. He leans against his mum and hugs her when the elephant is sad about its own mum.

By the end, Stan is smiling and realizes that names don’t mean anything because everyone is special in their own way.

End