Raxsah:
Holy Crap! A new story? And Harry Potter at that? Jeez! We're crazy.Jeck: CRAZY AWESOME!
Raxsah: However, this story will not be like our other ones. It will be a bit shorter-ish, and the chapters will be way longer! In fact, you might want to make sure you read this when you have a butt-load of free time. And if the chapters are too long, let us know so we can make them shorter. But we're trying to be consistent. Then again, it's Harry Potter. Who doesn't want a butt load of Harry potter?
Jeck: Honestly, I wanted to make them longer. But Raxsah pointed out that we (and our readers) have short attention spans. Therefore, posting year by year wouldn't be a good idea.
Raxsah: Truth. Anyway, we have a new story. Sorry the old one didn't work out, we honestly just kinda… came across a bitch of a writers block and couldn't write it. This one, however, seems to just be flowing out of our fingers. Though we're more excited for the older years. The first three are the innocent-ish years.
Jeck: We've got a nice plan for the fourth year. The kids officially grow up. As for our last story, we'll probably come back to it one day. But for now, we've got the Harry Potter goodness. :D
Raxsah: Yes, so we hope you like this one. We only have two, erm… three new characters to introduce, however, we keep forgetting about poor Becky… I don't expect to really use her until fourth year anyway.
Jeck: We throw Becky in there every once in awhile. She is just a minor character anyway. I hope people enjoy our two new characters as much as I do!
Raxsah: And please be nice to our Slytherin, she's Slytherin for a reason. I think that's all. Except for the fact that we don't own anything from Harry Potter… though we'd be pretty damn rich if we did.
Jeck: I wish. Honestly, if I had a time machine, I'd go back in time and kidnap J.K. Rowling. And then I would publish the Harry Potter series! :D And kill Stephenie Meyer.
Raxsah: That's a bit drastic. Please don't piss of the twi-tards. Seriously, they're freaking scary. I'll fight along side you against a fucking mob or zombies, but the twi-tards. No way, I'll visit your ass in the hospital though.
Jeck: Good to know your loyalities, buddy.
Raxsah: Hey, give me some credit. Even you know those guys are scary. That's why we avoid them by all means possible.
Jeck: I offend black people in college. I told a girl that she was the result of her mother chickening out halfway through an abortion. You think I'm scared of some douches who are obsessed with a guy who doesn't even like his own character?
Raxsah: I am, those people be crazy. Anyway! This is our story, and it has nothing to do with Twilight, well… we might throw a hit or two at Cedric during fourth year, but come on! Can you blame us?
Jeck: I blame Rob. Stupid Rob. ANYWAY, ENJOY!
Year One
Chapter 1: Somewhere I Belong
The sound of his cart echoed through the large train station, while the small animal in it's cage lightly pawed at the bars. He watched as his parents lead him through the crowds of muggles. He tried to stop his staring as he noticed how strangely they went about. Though he lived in a semi-muggle inhabited neighborhood, he barely spent time around them. Most of the time his parents sent him to another magical family before they let him play in the neighborhood.
"Maximilian, keep up now sweetie. You don't want to be late, do you?" His mother called, her blue eyes meeting her son's matching blue hues.
"No mum, I'm coming!" he called, pushing his cart a little faster. He needed to stop getting distracted by all these strange muggles.
"Oh, let the boy look, Nicole. They are quite interesting, you have to admit," his father said.
"Still, we promised Daniel and Anna that we would meet them before our children left. You know how they get when things don't go as scheduled," Nicole reminded her husband. He nodded and placed a hand on his son's shoulder.
"Well, here we are. Just run through that wall, we'll follow you right through," he told Max. Max frowned as he realized where his parents were pointing, suddenly feeling like this was not such a good idea.
"In the middle of platforms nine and ten?" he asked, just to be sure he was hearing his father right.
"Yes, I know it seems a little strange, just trust us," his mother assured him. Max took a look at both his parents, both sporting different shades of brown hair, and his father peering at him with his warm hazel eyes.
"Okay," he said finally. He quickly turned back to the wall and gripped his cart, in anticipation.
"Best start with a little jog," His father instructed. Max nodded and began to jog, closing his eyes last minute as he expected the sudden crash of his cart. When none came, he opened his eyes to see that in front of him was a train platform holding a train unlike any he had ever seen. It was nothing like the muggle trains he had seen before; this one seemed to hold a different presence to it. As if it were special somehow, and truly, it was. His parents spoke frequently of their own experience on the very same train and their years attending one of the mostly highly regarded schools in the whole wizarding word. He saw his parents appear next to him and gently coach him over to the side where he was a bunch of people, witches and wizards alike, running around frantically. Some were trying to find friends, while others were just looking lost.
"Oh, I found them. Anastasia, Daniel!" Nicole called. Max looked over and saw a small family of three walk over to them. His eyes caught sight of a familiar redhead and he smiled as she walked up to him, her own cart in tow.
"Hi Nessa!" he said excitedly. She smiled and moved away from her parents to hug him.
"Hello Max! I didn't know if you were going to make it," she confessed.
"I thought you were kidding about the wall," he admitted. When she told him that he had to run through a wall to get to the Hogwarts Express, he immediately thought she might have been playing one of her usual tricks on him. She was known to pull a few nasty pranks on a couple of the neighborhood kids, and though she had gone easy on Max, he knew better than to underestimate her.
"Vanessa, where are your manners?" Anastasia scolded. Vanessa rolled her eyes, but smiled at Max's parents.
"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Freeman. It's good to see you again," she replied sweetly.
"It's good to see you too, sweetie. Now you two better hurry along onto the train. It's very punctual, you know," Nicole instructed. Max nodded and leaned up to give his mother a kiss on the cheek.
"We're going, we're going," he mumbled. Nicole smiled as she placed a kiss on her son's forehead.
"Be good because I will not hesitate to send you a howler if I hear you're getting into trouble," Nicole warned him. Max's father stepped up behind him and ruffled his son's medium length brown hair.
"That would be your mother's way of saying be good. Take care, sport," he said. Max smiled up at his father.
"Of course I will!" He said with a grin, showing off his pearly white teeth.
"Come on, Charles. We'd better let them get going," Nicole said as she pulled on her husband's arm, trying to hold back her tears.
"What's wrong, mum?" Max asked, generally concerned for his mother as he noticed her eyes watering up.
"My little boy is all grown up!" Nicole said, unable to hold back her tears any longer. She buried her face in Charles shoulder while Vanessa chuckled. Max turned to glare at her.
"Shut up." Before Vanessa could reply, her own mother pulled her aside.
"Now honey, did you think we were going to let you go without our own goodbyes?" Anna asked her daughter. Vanessa sighed and rolled her pale green eyes that she obviously received from her mother's side of the family. She really wished she could have gotten her father's dark warm chocolate brown eyes, but fate was not on her side when she was born. However, she wouldn't have traded the Cook's dark red hair for anything in the world.
"No, of course not mum." She quickly hugged her mother and placed a quick kiss on her cheek before turning to her father.
"By daddy," she said, using the endearment she had used since she was a child. He smiled as he kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly.
"Be good, and let us known what house you're in after the sorting." He pulled away and looked at his only child. She smiled at him and nodded.
"Of course!" He ruffled her hair a bit before standing up straight and looking towards his wife.
"Come on, let's go before we stay too long," he said. Fortunately, her parents did not make as much of a scene as Max's did, but she did see a small trace of a tear in her mother's eyes.
"Bye mum, bye daddy!" she said, waving before pushing her cart toward the train. Max was right behind her, raising an eyebrow.
"Daddy?" he asked. She stuck her tongue out at him and chuckled.
"Don't judge." Max said nothing as he watched as a man came over and began to take his things off the cart.
"Bye Mask," Max said as he scratched his white cat through her change. Mask purred in return, her big eyes starring back at him through the black spots on her face. Vanessa leaned in to say good-bye to her own cat.
"Be good, Kitty," she said, kissing her cat through the cage.
"Shall we?" Max asked as they grabbed their carry on bags.
"We shall," Vanessa replied. The man reminded them to make sure they had their robes ready on the train.
"Did you hear? Harry Potter is going to school with us," Max asked as they boarded the train. Vanessa could not help the smile upon her face. Harry Potter was legend in the wizarding world. She had always wanted to meet the boy who destroyed the dark lord, even going so far as to admire him.
"Really? Wow… I can't believe our luck!" she squealed, causing a couple of fourth years to look at her funny. Max began to lead the way down the train, stopping when he accidentally knocked into someone.
"Oh, sorry," he said. The boy looked over, fixing his glasses ever so slightly.
"It's fine, I'm sorry. I was distracted… it looked like someone was trying to catch a brown frog," he explained, his green eyes looking back into the compartment.
"You mean the chocolate frog?" Max asked. Vanessa followed their gaze and scrunched her nose.
"I hate it when they get away. Spent five minutes trying to catch one of those buggers," she confessed.
"Chocolate frogs?" the boy asked, looking back at them. Max looked over his attire. Judging by the ragged look his clothes had, he guessed he was from a poor family, and by his lack of knowledge, he was probably muggle born.
"New to the magical world?" Max asked. The boy nodded, his broken glasses sliding down his nose ever so slightly.
"Very new…" he confessed.
"Oh, well, I'm Max." He shook the boys hand and tried to give him a comforting smile. Vanessa didn't even give him that, not really bothering to give him the time of day.
"I'm Vanessa, you're a muggle born?" she asked, genuinely curious. She wasn't allowed to associate with muggles or 'mudbloods' as he parents called them. Though she didn't know why.
"Um… not exactly… I'm Harry, Harry Potter. Are you first years too?" he asked. Vanessa felt her heart skip a beat when he mentioned his name. Harry Potter! Suddenly, the ragged looking boy was a lot more interesting.
"Blimey, the Harry Potter? We were just talking about how wicked awesome it was to be in the same year as you!" Max said, excited to meet the famous wizard. Harry blinked, not understanding Max's admiration.
"Oh, um, thanks. Well, it was nice to meet the two of you," he said before almost darting off down the rest of the train. Max turned to Vanessa who stood frozen in the spot.
"You okay there? Earth to Nessa, requesting permission to tease," Max said, waving his hand in front of her face. Vanessa jolted out of her daze and glared at her best friend.
"Shut up! Do you realize who we just met?" She said in an excited tone. Max rolled his eyes as they continued down the train.
"Well yeah, Harry Potter. Your secret crush," he said nonchalantly. Vanessa immediately slapped him upside the back of the head, glaring at him.
"Shut up!" She hissed, looking around to see if Harry was still around. Max watched her and chuckled.
"What's the big deal?" He asked. Vanessa scoffed as if it was the stupidest question in the world.
"Dude, he's famous and good looking!" She explained. Max shrugged.
"He kind of looks a mess. And he's obviously clueless about our world," he pointed out. Vanessa just grabbed his arm and dragged him into the first empty compartment they could find.
"It makes him level headed. And he's a hot mess," she explained, shoving her bag of robes away into the overhead compartment. Max mimicked her actions before taking a seat.
"I will never understand girls," he mumbled. Vanessa just smiled.
"That's because your simple mind can't process the complexity of it," she told him. Max raised an eyebrow, clearly not understanding her words. She might have only been eleven, but sometimes she spoke as if she were far older.
"Huh?"
"Nevermind."
"Seriously Vanessa, don't worry about it," Max said, trying to tie his tie for the ninth time. He knew his dad taught him how, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember.
"I can't just walk in with my hair looking a mess. I know a brought a brush somewhere," she said, bending over to look under the seat. Max looked over and blushed ever so slightly as he realized that his friend was going to have to get used to wearing a skirt like that. It wasn't that he had an attraction to her, but he was slowly starting to realize how much of a girl she really was these days.
"Nice panties," Max commented. Vanessa shot up and shot her best friend a glare, her pale green eyes meeting his blue.
"Shut up. Now I have to wear my hair in a braid. Fantastic," she mumbled, quickly tying her hair back in a French braid.
"Vanessa, come on, we're pulling into the station. I don't want to leave without you. Here is your hair tie," he said, before she could ask. He quickly shoved everything in his bag before waiting for his best friend. She seemed to be looking around the compartment, probably still looking for her brush. One thing they definitely had in common, they were both messy. Though, Vanessa still tended to loose things more than he did.
"Where would I be without you? Gosh, I hope we're in the same house. If not, I might just bloody loose my mind," she confessed.
"Well, cross your fingers," he mumbled. Vanessa nodded and stepped out of the cart, being careful not to run into anyone. She quickly made her way so she was standing behind a girl her own age with frizzy brown hair. She seemed to examine everything about the area the moment she stepped off the train, but instead of the wonderment most first years had she seemed to be analyzing everything.
"It's bigger than I imagined," she said, probably to herself. Vanessa raised an eyebrow, but continued to walk with Max to where someone was calling the first years.
"All first years this way!" he called. Vanessa and Max both looked upon the big man in shock. No way was he a giant, but he looked pretty close.
"Wow…" Max mumbled.
"Dude… is he like… the guard to the school?" she asked.
"I think he's the groundskeeper," Max mumbled. They followed the man who called himself Hagrid to the lake, where a bunch of boats were situated.
"I call front!" Vanessa said, jumping into one before anyone else.
"You always get front," Max pointed out, getting in behind her. She just smiled sweetly at him and waited for the rest of the group to leave toward the castle. Max looked around the boat to see a blonde haired girl absentmindedly twiddling her thumbs.
"Hey, are you new too?" He asked, turning to face the girl. Vanessa turned around to see the blonde haired girl too.
"Oh course she's knew, idiot. We're all first years here," Vanessa snapped. Max glared at her.
"Shut up, I'm making conversation!" He replied. The blonde hair girl watched the display before her and chuckled.
"Are you two related?" She asked sweetly. Vanessa shook her head.
"Oh no, we're not. We're just best friends," she explained. Max nodded.
"Hard to believe, I know," he mumbled. Vanessa elbowed him and turned back to the new girl.
"We pretty much grew up together," she continued. The girl nodded, but couldn't hide the smile on her face. She looked at Max who smiled back and her cheeks went red.
"Oh, are you two dating then?" She asked hesitantly.
"What? EW!" Max replied, making gagging noises. Vanessa folded her arms and glared at Max.
"You're not so appealing yourself," she countered. The blonde girl held up her hands.
"I'm sorry, I was just wondering," she said, her gaze lingering a little bit longer on Max. He took it as a good sign and held out his hand.
"I'm Max," he offered. The girl shook his hand and gave him a shy smile.
"Rebecca, but you can call me Becky," she replied. Vanessa also stuck out her hand.
"I'm Vanessa," she introduced. Becky turned to her and shook her hand as well.
"It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, the shy smile still present.
"So, what house are you planning on getting in?" Vanessa asked.
"Oh… I don't really care. Any house is fine with me. I'm just excited to start school, you know?" she asked. Max nodded and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm the same way. A cool house would be sweet though. No lie there," he confessed. She nodded and smiled a bit.
"Oh wow… Max, Becky, look!" Vanessa said, smiling as the castle came into view. All three of them became quiet as Hogwarts appeared before them. The boats still drifted quietly along as all the first years were silenced with awe.
"Can you believe we're going to school here?" Max asked quietly.
"It's amazing," Becky agreed. Vanessa smirked and looked over at Max.
"We're so going to have fun here," she told him. He smiled as well and the rest of the trip was silent as they came closer and closer to their new school.
"Wow, I wonder if we're going to get lost in here?" Becky mused aloud.
"Probably, they need a map," Vanessa replied. Max rolled his eyes as they were led through the castle up a large flight of stairs where they stood in front of a woman wearing green robes. Vanessa felt someone nudge into her and she turned to see a blonde haired boy standing next to her. He shot her a quick look that said 'watch where you're going' and she glared at him. Before he could reply, the woman spoke.
"Welcome to Hogwarts. Now, in a few moments you will pass through these doors and join your classmates. But before you take your seats, you must be sorted into your houses. They are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin." She paused and the group of students began to ever so quietly mumble amongst themselves. The woman quickly continued.
"Now while you're here your house will be like your family. Your triumphs will earn you points. Any rule breaking and you will loose points. At the end of the year, the houses with the most points is awarded the house cup." Before she could continue, the sound of a frog echoed through the halls, and Vanessa flinched ever so slightly. She hated those damn creatures.
"Trevor!" a boy cried. He was slightly on the pudgy side, with his ear sticking out like a monkey, and he had a rather horrible overbite. He quickly scooped up the frog sitting at the woman's feet and a few people giggled. He looked up at the green robed witch and she simply raised an eyebrow at him. "Sorry," he mumbled before falling back into the crowd. She took a deep breath and regarded the rest of the group.
"The ceremony will begin shortly," she said, turning around and heading into the hall. The group of students were left alone and all eyes turned on the blonde haired boy next to Vanessa, who began to step forward. She immediately recognized her cousin, Gregory Goyle, standing behind him with his other friend. Despite her family being very close, she rarely talked to her cousin. He was too dull for her to be around anyway.
"It's true then, what they are saying on the train. Harry Potter has come to Hogwarts," the blonde haired boy said. Max scrunched his nose. Whoever this kid was, he immediately didn't like him. Or his attitude.
"Harry Potter?" People mumbled among themselves as they turned to face the boy with the lightening shaped scar. Seeing him for a second time, Max and Vanessa spot his scar sticking out from under his messy hair.
"Looks like a showdown or something," Max whispered to Vanessa as they watched the scene before them unfold.
"You and your imagination," Vanessa whispered back as the blonde boy stepped towards the world famous Harry Potter, her cousin and his friend behind him.
"This is Crabbe and Goyle. And I'm Malfoy. Draco Malfoy," the boy introduced. Max never liked Goyle, but he had only met him once. The larger boy had shoved him down and stole his Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans. Luckily, the bag was filled with some of the nastiest tasting beans known to man. The redheaded boy standing next to Harry Potter snorted at Draco's name, who turned to glare at the boy.
"Oh god, this won't end well," Vanessa said, noting the vicious look in Draco's eyes.
"Think my name's funny, do you? No need to ask yours. Red hair and hand-me-down robes? You must be a Wesley," he snarled. Crabbe and Goyle chuckled from behind him, but Vanessa felt her face turn red with anger.
"Hey, what's wrong with red hair!" She snapped. Draco turned to look at her, but Goyle stepped in between them.
"My cousin," he mumbled, trying to defend her. Draco nodded and turned back to Harry.
"You'll soon find out that some wizarding families are better than others, Potter. You don't want to be making friends with the wrong sort. I can help you there," he explained, offering his hand to the Boy-Who-Lived. Harry looked at Draco's hand, but didn't take it.
"I think I can tell the wrong sort for myself, thanks," he replied coldly. Draco's eyes narrowed at the boy and opened him mouth to insult him, but the woman from before returned. Her eyes were stern, yet tired as she looked at the two boys. Draco gave Harry one last hateful look before turning to face the woman.
"We're ready for you. Follow me." The group of students followed her in and all of them gasped in awe at the great hall. Max briefly heard a girl behind him explain the charm behind the ceiling, but he didn't truly care. It was the most fantastic thing he'd ever seen. He could almost feel the fresh air the night sky provided from the enchanted ceiling. They all stopped before the steps that led up to the professors table and the woman turned to them and instructed them to wait while Professor Dumbledore said a few words. The old headmaster rose and looked upon the small group of children.
"I have a few start-of-term notices I wish to announce. The first years please note, that the Dark Forest is strictly forbidden to all students. Also, our caretaker, Mr. Filch, has asked me to remind you that the third floor corridor on the right hand side is out of bounds to all who do not wish to die a most painful death." Vanessa looked at Max, who was shocked beyond reason. The man must have been joking, right? The headmaster smiled upon the students and gave a small nod. "Thank you."
The students all exchanged looks as he sat down and Professor McGonagall stood forward and took hold of a hat, as well as a long list.
"When I call your name, you will come forth. I shall place the Sorting Hat on your head, and you will be sorted into your houses. Hermione Granger!" The girl in question froze for a moment before taking a deep breath and muttering a few things to herself. She hesitantly made her way to the hat and let it sit upon her head. She flinched slightly and a few moments later it spoke.
"Gryffindor!" it called. The girl let out a sigh of relief and walked over to the table.
"Draco Malfoy!" Vanessa glanced over and noticed the boy next to her was startled, but moved forward. She would have admitted he was cute, if he wasn't such a jerk. He sat upon the chair and before the hat even sat on his head, it shouted.
"Slytherin!" He smirked and made his way toward the table. Max heard the Wesley boy whisper something to Harry, but didn't have time to think about it before he was called to the chair.
"Maximilian Freeman!" He felt Vanessa squeeze his hand lightly before he stepped forward. Professor McGonagall smiled warmly at him and placed the hat on his head.
"Ah, a Freeman. I was wondering if another one of you was going to come along. Let's see… intelligent, but not nearly enough qualities that would welcome you to the house of Ravenclaw. Hardworking, but I do not see you succeeding in Hufflepuff. Though you are pure of blood, I think Gryffindor would be better suited. Quite brave, a born leader, and quite chivalrous… better be…"
"Gryffindor!" It shouted. He smiled and waited for the hat to be taken off before throwing a smile at Vanessa and Becky, who both gave him thumbs up. He sat down next to the girl from before and shook hands with her.
"Rebecca Morgan!" Becky suddenly froze and needed a couple people to push her forward. The hat was on her head a total of three seconds before it called out Hufflepuff, causing her to practically flee the chair and sit down at the table decked out in yellow and black.
"Ronald Wesley!" The redheaded boy paused before making his way up and sitting hesitantly on the chair. The hat was placed on his head and cried "Gryffindor" a second later. A few other redheads at the Gryffindor table began cheering. Vanessa looked over to notice that two of the redheads appeared to be twins, and good looking ones at that. With a blush, she turned her attention back to the sorting.
"Harry Potter!" Vanessa noticed the room become silent as he made his way to the chair, sitting down and jumping slightly as McGonagall placed the hat on his head. Everyone watched patiently as Harry sat on the stool, waiting patiently for the hat to call out his house. Vanessa was closer than Max and she could tell Harry was whispering things to himself.
"Well if you're sure… GRYFFINDOR!" Harry let out a sigh of relief as McGonagall gently pulled the hat off his head. He jumped up and made his way over to the Gryffindor table where his new friends sat. Vanessa turned to look at Max who was looking at her, giving her a thumbs up.
"Vanessa Cook!" McGonagall called out. Vanessa walked up to the stool just as Max had done and took a seat. The hat was lowered onto her head.
"A Cook. I know exactly where you belong, just as all the Cooks before you," the hat whispered in her ear. She snapped her eyes shut and thought as loud as she could.
"But I want to be with Max." She did. She knew where her whole family had belonged during their time at Hogwarts, but she had hoped that she wouldn't follow the same path.
"You are quite brave, but you're far too cunning and too ambitious for that house. No, like all the Cooks before you, you know where you belong…"
"Slytherin!" The hat called out. Vanessa felt her heart drop as cheers and applause erupted from the table covered in green. The hat was removed and she numbly crossed the room, taking a seat next to her cousin and his friend.
"Seems like you're one of us after all," Draco said with a sneer.
"Shut it," she mumbled, looking across the room at Max. He gave her a sad smile and a thumbs up, despite her new house. She smiled and gave a small nod. He turned back to the table when the sorting was over and she looked down as well.
"Sad that you're separated from your boyfriend?" Draco asked, chuckling with Crabbe and Goyle. Vanessa shot a look at her cousin before turning toward the blonde boy.
"He's not my boyfriend, and I'm upset at the fact that I could be lumped into the same category as yourself," she snapped.
"Prat."
"Arrogant boggart!"
"Banshee!"
"Troll boogies!" The two of them simply shot each other nasty looks until he smiled and turned toward Goyle.
"I like this cousin of yours." Vanessa said nothing else and shook her head as she turned toward the headmaster. She really didn't understand boys.
Max turned toward the group in front of him and quickly got into a conversation with a boy named Dean. He seemed nice enough, but he didn't know him well enough quite yet.
"I'm half and half. Dad's a muggle, Mum's a witch. Bit of a nasty shock for him when he found out," a boy named Seamus told them.
"What about you, Max was it?" Dean asked.
"Both my parents were wizards. I've never really met with a muggle. There are a few in my neighborhood, but we're pretty secluded," Max explained. He looked over to the girl next to him. "What about you?"
"Oh… both my parents are muggles. They were a bit shocked when I got my letter," she confessed.
"Wow, so you really know nothing about this place?" Max asked.
"Oh no… I know plenty. I spent all summer reading up on the magical world. It's quite fascinating," she said, her brown eyes lighting up just a bit.
"Know-it-all," Ron muttered. Max ignored him and chuckled at her.
"Well, now I know who's helping me with my homework," he said. She smiled and went back to dinner while he went to talking with a boy about the Quidditch World Cup. This was going to be an interesting year at Hogwarts, that was for sure.
"Gather around here. Welcome to the Gryffindor common room," the prefect announced as the first years gathered in the room. Max felt so alone without his best friend, but decided to stick close to Harry and his two friends, Ron and Hermione. Dean and Seamus were getting along and almost forget about him completely.
"This place ain't half bad," he mumbled to himself, but Hermione nodded.
"Hogwarts is such a beautiful place. I can't wait until we begin classes tomorrow!" She exclaimed. Ron rolled his eyes and scoffed.
"You would," he mumbled. Max felt slightly defensive towards the bushy haired girl, but Percy continued before he got the chance to sit up for her.
"Boys' dormitories is upstairs and down to your left. Girls the same on your right. You'll find all your belongings have already been brought up," Percy explained, gesturing up the stairs. Harry and Ron took off upstairs once Percy was done and Max figured he might as well follow as well.
"I'll see you later, Hermione," he said with a wave before taking off after them, obviously the more polite. Hermione waved back, watching the three boys retreating forms.
"I really need to find some female friends…" she muttered to herself.
Vanessa followed the Slytherin prefect into the dungeons with a frown. Draco was a jerk and her cousin seemed as stupid and dull as ever. His friend Crabbe wasn't much better. Despite being a Slytherin, she felt like she didn't belong here.
"Your junk is already in your room. Goodnight," the grumpy prefect mumbled. He left without another word and Draco turned to face Vanessa.
"Well, perhaps you'd like to hang out with me and the boys for a bit?" He offered, giving her an evil grin. Vanessa rolled her eyes and strolled past the blonde haired boy.
"Not interested," she mumbled as she headed towards what she hoped was her dorm room.
"Fair enough," Draco mumbled. Before he knew it, a black haired pug faced girl appeared in front of him.
"Well I'm very interested," she squealed. Draco shrugged.
"You'll do." Vanessa heard over her shoulder.
"Desperate much?"
Max ran down the stairs of Gryffindor tower, his books in hand and his tie sloppily tied. He really shouldn't have stayed up the night before with the guys in the dorm.
"Bloody hell, first years are a mess," one of the older kids commented. Max paid no attention to them as he took off, almost missing his turn because of the bloody stairs. By the time he made it to Transfiguration, he tie was still sloppy and his hair was a mess. He noticed Becky sitting at her desk before running over and sitting down.
"Are you alright?" she asked, noticing his attire.
"Woke up late. I'm just lucky I didn't get lost." He always did have a good sense of direction.
"Woke up late? Did you forget about class?" she asked, generally concerned.
"Oh… um… no. Just stayed up late with a few guys," he confessed with a sheepish grin. Becky chuckled and shook her head.
"Well, that was quite stupid of you," she pointed out. He shrugged and began to pull out his books. He had a nasty habit of doing stupid things too. The whole act before you think really didn't do too well in his favor.
"Hey, do you know if Vanessa is in this class?" he asked. Becky shrugged and looked at her own books.
"I haven't seen her, but I don't expect to. She's in Slytherin now." Max shrugged.
"Why would that matter?" Becky shot him a look and sighed.
"Because Slytherin's aren't know for their… pleasantness," she pointed out. Max didn't have a chance to reply before McGonagall started the lesson. While the group began to take notes, Professor looked around the room before transfiguring into a cat. The group looked around in awe, but quickly went back to their notes when they realized that she was watching them.
"Vanessa isn't like them, she's still going to be our friend," Max whispered. Becky shrugged and shot him a look.
"Maybe… don't hold your breath…" Max sighed and jumped as the doors opened and two boys ran in. He instantly noticed that they were Ron and Harry, which he found odd because the boys left before he did.
"Whew, we made it! Can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if we were late?" Ron said to Harry as they entered the room. Max and half the class looked to the front of the room, knowing the McGonagall was listening to their every word. Before Harry could respond to Ron, McGonagall leapt off the desk and transformed back into a human. Ron and Harry could only watch with amazement like the rest of the class did only ten minutes beforehand.
"Idiots," Hermione mumbled. Harry was completely speechless as their teacher glared down at them.
"That was bloody brilliant!" Ron exclaimed. He saw a lot of things as a wizard, but that was not one of them. Max just rolled his eyes at the Weasley boy's innocence.
"Thank you for the assessment, Mr. Weasley. Perhaps it would be more useful if I transfigured Mr. Potter and yourself into a pocket watch. That way one of you would be on time," McGonagall scolded, causing a few stray chuckles to erupt in the classroom. McGonagall glared at the rest of the class before turning back to Harry and Ron.
"W-We got lost," Harry mumbled, slightly afraid of his transfiguration teacher. Max didn't blame him, she was terrifying when she wanted to be.
"The perhaps a map? I trust you don't need one to find your seats," she said. Both boys sat down and McGonagall began teaching. Max shook his head and went back to his parchment. Interesting year indeed.
Vanessa ran a hand through her red hair as she made her way to the dungeons. She had potions next and was not looking forward to it after running into Professor Snape that morning.
She ran up the stairs of the common room as she quickly tried to get away from the girl in her dorm. Her name was Pansy-something, and she was annoying as hell. She quickly turned the corner and ran right smack into someone, causing her to groan in pain.
"Um… ouch. Where do you bloody thing you're going you…" she trailed off when she realized that, not only was she talking to a professor, she was talking to her house professor.
"Would you care to finish that sentence, Miss Cook?" he asked. Vanessa felt the color drain from her face, and the snaky insult forming on her tongue dropped as she realized that it would do nothing, but get her in trouble.
"I think it would be better if I didn't, professor," she confessed. He raised an eyebrow and noticed her messy uniform. She had yet to slip on her vest and robe, and her tie was actually hanging out of her bag. The rest of her uniform was in place, however, and even her hair was done.
"I think so too. Is there a particular place you are heading in such a disarray?" he asked. For a moment she was silent and simply seemed to be in deep thought, and he briefly wondered if it was due to his choice of wording, she was only eleven after all.
"Would you believe me if I said to class?" she asked. When she got no answer she sighed. "I'm running from one of my roommates, sir. Thus the reason for my uniform not being put together. I planned on stopping at the girls lavatory to finish," she confessed. Snape was silent for a long time before raising one black eyebrow.
"Then I suggest you run along now, Miss Cook. Wouldn't want you to be late for… class," he said. She nodded and quickly ran away from him, finding the closest bathroom and hiding herself in one of the stalls. She had thirty minutes before class, so she had better start getting ready.
Though he let her off without any trouble, he still intimidated the crap out of her. She blamed the fact that he would just stay silent and stare. She was used to being yelled at or scolded, but never just stared at. She pushed those thoughts away as she went to make her way toward the Potions room, but she stopped when she almost ran into someone.
"Oh," she said automatically. The boy turned to her and she realized it was Harry Potter. She blushed lightly and smiled.
"Hi, Harry right?" she asked. Harry nodded and looked at her robes.
"Um yeah…" There was an awkward silence between them as she shoved her charms book in her shoulder bag.
"So… um… how are you?"
"Why are you talking to me?" he asked coldly. Vanessa raised an eyebrow.
"Because you're in front of me?"
"Slytherins don't talk to Gryffindors. Especially those who are related to gits," he pointed out. Vanessa realized he was referring to Goyle and glared. She may have not gotten along with her cousin, but he was still family.
"Hey, back off. I never did anything to you," she pointed out. He scoffed and seemed to back away from her.
"Not yet…" She glared and crossed her arms.
"My best friend is a Gryffindor, and don't you dare say anything about my cousin. No matter what, he's still my cousin," she hissed.
"I need to go to class," he snapped, brushing her off. He moved past her and left her standing alone.
"You bloody bigot!" she hissed. She felt the urge to go for her wand, but pushed it back. Fine, he wanted to be a jerk, she could do that as well. She held her head up high as she walked into the Potions classroom, the same one Harry just entered and looked around. It seemed, much to her displeasure, there was only one seat open next to Draco Malfoy which left her no choice, but to sit next to him. He said nothing as he saw her, but turned back to messing with the small candle lit in front of him. She rolled her eyes and pulled out her books.
"You will not believe this girl…" she heard someone say. She looked forward and saw Harry talking with the Wesley boy, Ron, she believed his name was. She pressed her lips together and pulled her wand out, ready to use it, only to have Draco reach out and grab her wrist.
"He's not worth a detention. If you're going to get back at him be stealthy about it," he told her. She furrowed her eyebrows, but put her wand away just as Professor Snape stormed into the room.
"There will be no foolish wand-waving or silly incantations in this class," he snarled as he whirled around to face the class. Having cleaned up since their earlier run-in, Vanessa didn't feel so awkward around him. His eyes were stone cold and his lips were pressed together tight, showing his displeasure of being there. Draco had mentioned something about him wanting the Defense Against the Dark Arts job last class to Crabbe, but she didn't really pay much attention. Now as she sat here watching him, it was clear as day.
"As such, I don't expect many of you to appreciate the subtle science and exact art that is potion making. However, for those select few who possess the predisposition," he trailed off with a look over towards Draco and herself. The boy had been talking nonstop about how Potions was going to be his favorite class and it appeared she knew why now; Snape knew Draco. Perhaps sticking around with the blonde haired boy wouldn't be such a bad idea after all.
"I can teach you how to bewitch the mind and ensnare the senses. I show you how to bottle fame, brew glory, and even put a stopper in death," he explained as Draco watched intently. Vanessa could here the faint scratching of quill against paper and noticed Harry writing something down on his parchment. So the famous Boy-Who-Lived was a nerd now too?
"Then again maybe some of you have come to Hogwarts in possession of abilities so formidable that you feel confident enough to not pay attention." Snape all, but spat the last three words of his sentence, finally catching Harry's attention. Vanessa felt herself chuckling along with Draco and saw Hermione turned around to give Harry and Ron a scolding look, Max sitting next to her. It didn't even occur to Vanessa that she would be having the same class with him until now. Snape crossed the room with a glare held firm upon here and sneered.
"Mr. Potter, our new celebrity. Tell me what would I get if I added root of asphodel to an infusion of wormwood?" As soon as the question left Snape's mouth, both Hermione and Vanessa's hands shot into the air. Vanessa had made sure to actually read her books before coming to school, something that Max had laughed about when she told him. Then again, school wasn't his strong point. Harry looked at Hermione before turning his attention back to Snape, shaking his head.
"You don't know? Well let's try again. Where Mr. Potter would you look if I asked you to find me a bezoar?" Once again, both Hermione and Vanessa's hands shot up into the air. Snape didn't even bother giving them a second glance.
"I don't know, sir," he mumbled, looking at Hermione's raised hand again. Vanessa gave a frustrated sigh. Obviously, Snape didn't care much for the answers. He was just making Harry into a fool. After their early encounter, she thought he deserved it.
"And what is the difference between monkswood and wolfsbane?" Harry was silent for a long moment and Vanessa could not help the smile on her face. Served him right.
"I don't know Sir," he confessed. Snape raised an eyebrow at him.
"Pity. It appears, fame isn't everything… is it, Mr. Potter?" he asked. Harry shot him a look and clenched his fists.
"Why don't you ask Hermione? Clearly she knows," Harry pointed out. The whole room went deathly silent as Snape stared him down. Suddenly he moved over and sat in front of his desk.
"Put your hand down, you silly girl," he hissed to Hermione. She immediately dropped it and huffed. Professor Snape began to talk, but Vanessa was no longer paying attention. She was too busy cheering inside at the fact that Harry had just totally gotten owned by her potions teacher. She turned to look at Max, who was looking at her, and she gave him a small wave. He returned it, but looked back to Snape as he stood up.
"Why aren't you all writing this down? Ten points from Gryffindor for cheek," he snapped, going to his desk and writing something down. Vanessa jumped and immediately began copying Draco's notes.
"That's cheating," he whispered. She shot him a glare and continued.
"What are you going to do about it? Cry?" Draco shot her a look, but did nothing. Vanessa smiled and shot another look at Potter. In a matter of minutes he had turned from her idol, into her pest. Hopefully they could just avoid each other the rest of the year.
"Nessa!" a voice called. Vanessa quickly looked over and turned away from her cousin as Max made his way toward her.
"Max! Potion's is going to kill me!" she cried. He chuckled and hugged her. She smiled and pulled away, ignoring the small group of Gryffindors looking at them funny.
"Please, you know you'll be doing my homework in no time. I saved up on my Every Flavor Beans just to bribe you," he said. She rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, no. I'm going to have a hard enough time with it as it is. Why don't you see if you can get Granger to do it," Vanessa suggested. Max raised an eyebrow at her name for his new female friend.
"Granger? You mean Hermione?" He asked.
"She's your friend, not mine," Vanessa replied dryly. She'd obviously been hanging out with Draco and his friends too long.
"Well, I want you to be friends with my friends," Max said as they started towards dinner. Vanessa scoffed thinking back to her encounter with Harry. So much for that.
"Harry is a dick," she stated as they neared the main lobby of Hogwarts. Max nodded.
"And Ron is a bigot. However, it's fun beating them in wizard's chess," he said confidently. Vanessa sighed and turned to face Max before they entered the dining hall.
"And why can't Hermione do your homework for you?" She asked. Max sighed.
"She's already doing their's," he explained. Vanessa mimicked his sigh as they started in.
"This whole being in different house thing sucks."
"I know… I found your brush by the way," he said. Her eyes lit up and she smiled.
"Really? I had to steal one from some girl in my dorm and it took me forever to finally get all of her nasty hair out of it. Then I broke it when I tried to disinfect it," she confessed. They slowly began walking down their tables. One said Slytherin, the other Gryffindor.
"What? How did you do that?" Her cheeks turned the slightest of pink and she shrugged.
"I got frustrated with the charm I was trying to do and just gave up. I ended up setting it on fire and putting the ashes on the girls pillow," she said.
"Well… that was probably unnecessary," he commented. She stopped walking and shrugged.
"You're probably right. However, doesn't make it any less funny. Stupid Pansy…"
"You can't put ashes on the girls bed then call her names, it's not really all that nice," Max said, trying to stick up for the poor girl. He could already see himself being the buffer between herself and the rest of the world. Otherwise, she might just kill someone.
"No! That's her name. Pansy…" He raised an eyebrow and shook his head.
"Okay…" she chuckled and hugged him.
"I'll see you at flying lessons. Can you believe we're going to learn how to fly a broom?" she asked. Despite the statement, she looked less than happy about the situation.
"I mean, I already know how, but yeah, it should be cool. I'll see you then," he replied, breaking away and sitting down at his table. He sat across from Ron, who looked slightly appalled.
"What?" Max asked, confused at the redheads face.
"You were just talking to a Slytherin!" he pointed out. Max sighed, already seeing this as a problem in the future.
"That's Vanessa, she's like… my best friend," he defended. Ron shook his head, completely in disbelief.
"But she's a filthy Slytherin," he argued. Harry and Hermione exchanged looks as Max narrowed his eyes at the redhead.
"And you're a bigot," he countered. Harry smiled and Hermione chuckled to herself. Max looked across the room to where Vanessa sat, seemingly as frustrated as he was. Draco was probably grilling her about the same thing.
"Dude, seriously. All those who get sorted into Slytherin are bad people," Ron explained, as if it was the most obviously thing in the world, but Max wouldn't have it.
"Says who?"
"Every wizard or witch in Slytherin has turned out bad. Like He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named," Ron explained confidently. Hermione scoffed at his naïve comment.
"People who are bad are usually sorted there, but not all Slytherins are bad," she reasoned. Ron slammed his fork down on the table.
"Name one," he challenged. Hermione smiled.
"Horace Slughorn." Ron, Max, and Harry all gave her a confused looked.
"Who?" The redhead asked. Max smiled, despite the fact he didn't have the slightest clue who the man Hermione was talking about. He'd have to ask her or Vanessa later.
"Exactly. Not all Slytherins are bad," he said triumphantly.
"It's just their qualities and traits that get them sorted into that house," Hermione stated happily. Ron looked at the two before looking across the room at Vanessa.
"So she's evil then?"
Vanessa sighed as Draco continued on.
"You shouldn't associate with filthy Gryffindors!" Draco declared. Vanessa sighed.
"For the last time, Draco, Max is my best friend," she said, playing with the food on her plate. Ever since he opened his mouth, she'd been resisting the urge to stab him with her fork.
"He's a goody-two shoes now," Draco declared. Vanessa slammed her fork down and turned to face him.
"Seriously, just stop," she snapped. But of course, he was far to superior to listen to her.
"Not to mention he hangs out with Potty Wee Potter and the Weasel. Oh, and that filthy mudblood." Vanessa rolled her eyes. Sure, she wasn't too keen on the Granger girl, but that was going a bit too far. Then again, her parents were the same way.
"Draco, I swear I will learn a jinx and jinx you into next year. Max is a pureblood and I hate Potter. I haven't met his friends yet, but I don't like them either. So just shut up," she snapped, her voice laced with venom. Draco paused before scoffing and turning to his food.
"If you know what's best for you, you might as well stay away from them. You'll ruin your pureblood name," Draco told her. Vanessa placed her face in her hands and groaned.
"Please, at least leave Max alone. Please?" she asked, her eyes suddenly turned pleading. The same thing worked on her father, she wondered if it would have the same effect on Draco. He paused for a moment before sighing and stabbing the food on his plate in anger.
"Fine…" Goyle and Crabbe exchanged looks before Pansy sat down across from them.
"Hey, Cook! Did you put ashes on my bed?" Vanessa hid the smirk well and shot a look at Max, who was suddenly smiling widely.
"Who? Me?"
Max smiled as he felt the chill of the September air hit his face. Their flying lessons were outside, naturally, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. He glanced over and watched at Vanessa made quick conversation with Rebecca, only to have Goyle say something and distract her from the other girl and begin to walk away. She quickly said a goodbye and ran over toward Malfoy's small group, much to Max's dismay.
"You mean we'll actually fly brooms?" Harry asked Ron. Ron nodded and smiled.
"I've seen Fred and George do it, it actually looks like fun!" he exclaimed. Max looked down at his broom and smiled. His parents had given him a broom at the age of six, and he had been riding ever since. Hopefully, this would be a breeze. A second later, a woman made her way toward the small group of children.
"Good afternoon class!" she called.
"Good afternoon, Madame Hooch," they chorused. She turned to the class and everyone could see there was a slight twinkle in her eye.
"Welcome to your first flying lesson. Well, what are you waiting for? Everyone step up to the left side of their broomstick. Come on now, hurry up. Stick your right hand over the broom and say up." No sooner had the words left Madam Hooch's mouth had the chorus of ups echoed through the courtyard.
"Up," Max said proudly as the broom shot up into his hand. Harry watched this before turning to his own broom.
"Up!" He demanded. Like Max's, the broom shot into his hands. Hermione watched in awe at the ease the two boys had.
"Up… up! Up! UP!" She tried, but her broom remained lifeless. Draco watched her struggled and turned to his own broom.
"Silly mudblood… up!" Draco's broom shot into his hand as well. Vanessa sighed. Max had tried to teach her, but she held a small fear of heights.
"Up," she tried, but her broom just bounced on the ground a bit.
"With feeling!" Madam Hooch encouraged. Vanessa looked up to see the Weasley boy smack himself in the face with the broom.
"Ow…" Harry and Max burst out laughing as Hermione continued to try with no avail.
"That was some skill there, Ron," Max said as he mounted his broom. With little trouble, he began to float. Ron shot him a jealous glare.
"Oh, shut up!"
"Very nice display, Mr. Freeman, but please wait until everyone else is that far ahead," Madam Hooch scolded. Reluctantly, Max hopped off his broom and waited.
"Up!" Vanessa tried once more. This time the broom shot up, missed her hand, and slapped Pansy Parkinson in the face, two people down from her.
"COOK!" She snarled, holding her nose.
"It might actually be an improvement," Draco whispered to her, causing her to burst out laughing.
"Now once you've got hold of your broom, I want you to mount it," the professor instructed. Max rolled his eyes and got back onto his broom. Ron, Harry, and Hermione cautiously got onto their own brooms as he looked down at Vanessa. After retrieving her broom, she returned next to Malfoy.
"Grip it tight. You don't want to be sliding off the end," Madam Hooch warned them.
"Careful, don't want you sliding off the end now," Draco warned with a playful smile. Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"Shut it, I'm not that bad." Once all the students were ready, Madam Hooch grabbed her whistle.
"When I blow my whistle, I want each of you to kick off from the ground. Hard. Keep your broom steady, hover for a moment, then lean forward slightly and touch back down. On my whistle. Three, two…" The whistle sounded like nails on a chalkboard, but Max shook off the feeling and gently lifted off the ground again.
"Mr. Longbottom! Mister… mister… Mr. Longbottom!" Max looked up to see the plump little boy with the toad rise off the ground at an alarming rate. He had no control over the broom as he began shaking and jerking it around.
"Idiot…" he mumbled to himself, but felt bad for the boy. Draco was laughing hysterically with Vanessa smiling next to him. Max just hoped she wasn't turning into another Malfoy. It was the last thing this world needed.
"HELP! HELP!" He cried out as he continued to rise. Max considered flying up to help the boy, but Madam Hooch seemed to have things under control. If by under control, she thought shouting at the boy was going to help.
"Come back down this instant!" She called out. Max watched in horror at the boy flew towards one of the castle's walls, slamming his broomstick into the side. However, he remained seated.
"That takes skill," he whispered to Hermione.
"That looks like it hurts," she replied, watching as he dive-bombed back down.
"Yeah, poor kid will probably won't be able to sit for a week," Max mumbled as Madam Hooch whipped out her wand.
"Mr. Longbottom!" She cried out as he began racing towards the crowd. At the last moment, she dove out of the way with the rest of the students following her example. Hermione turned back to Max.
"Huh?" She asked, not having heard him. Max shook his head.
"Nevermind." Neville continued to race off into the distance before doubled back. Finally, he lost his grip on his old broomstick and slipped off. Despite how humorous she found it, Vanessa gasped when she saw the idiotic Gryffindor fall off his broom. Luckily, a statue was there to catch him by the tip of his spear. Neville's robes were only able to hold on for so long as the ripped from above him. Finally, the material gave way and Neville tumbled back down to the ground.
"Everyone out of the way!" Madam Hooch cried out, rushing to the injured boy. The rest of the group followed, but not before Malfoy picked something up the ground. They gathered around watched as Madam Hooch began to inspect his wrist.
"Oh, oh, oh. Oh dear, it's a broken wrist. Poor boy. Come on now, up you get," she said, lifting the boy up on his feet.
"Poor boy," Hermione muttered. Vanessa heard the girl and rolled her eyes.
"Idiot is more like it," she whispered. She saw Max shoot her a look and she shrugged.
"Everyone is to keep their feet firmly on the ground while I take Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing. Understand? If I see a single broom in the air the one riding it will find themselves out of Hogwarts before they can say 'Quidditch,'" she instructed, leading the boy away from the group. When she was finally was out of ear range, Malfoy held up the clear little sphere he found on the ground.
"Did you see his face? If the fat lump had given this a squeeze, he would remember to fall on his fat arse." Most of the Slytherin's laughed, but Vanessa simply rolled her eyes and leaned on her broom. It was funny, but it would soon get old. Harry stepped forward and glared at the blonde haired boy.
"Give it here, Malfoy," he missed. Malfoy turned to him and shot him a nasty look.
"No, I think I'll leave it somewhere for Longbottom to find." He then sat on his broom and gave a small kick off the ground, causing his broom to soar up in the air.
"Show-off," Max muttered. Though he really didn't have much room to talk.
"How about on the roof?" Draco screamed from the air. Harry pressed his lips together and gripped his broom a little harder than needed.
"He is such a prat," Ron muttered.
"Have you met him recently?" Max asked.
"What's the matter Potter? A bit beyond your reach?" he asked, the cocky smirk still on his lips. Harry finally had enough and mounted his broom. Hermione stepped forward immediately.
"Harry, no way! You heard what Madam Mooch said! You don't even know how to fly!"
"The boy doesn't need a mother, Granger. If he wants to break his neck, let him!" Vanessa told her.
"Vanessa," Max hissed, not appreciating her comment. She shrugged and looked at Harry, who ignored them all and kicked off the ground.
"What and idiot!" she hissed. The group below watched as the two boys exchanged words before Malfoy chucked the remembrall across the large field. Harry paused for a moment before taking off after it, causing the group of students to watch him go. Right before he smacked into a window, he caught it and turned himself around, causing the group to gasp in surprise.
"Wow… that was… wow…" Max muttered. He turned to his best friend. "Even you have to admit that was cool," he said. She let a smile slip and shrugged.
"It was cool…" Harry soon touched down to the ground and most of the class ran toward him, with the exception of the Slytherins, who stood next to Malfoy as he glared.
"Harry Potter!" a voice called, causing the class to become silent. Everyone turned toward Professor McGonagall, who regarded the boy with a stern look.
"Follow me," she said. The Slytherin group began to chuckle and Vanessa held a cocky smile. Served the little bugger right. She didn't care if she was being mean, if he was going to be a bigot, she was going to be rude.
"Come on, you'd got to admit that Harry Potter isn't just all talk," Max said as they both sat in the library. Vanessa had convinced him to at least try to work on his Potion's essay.
"No, but I still don't like him," Vanessa replied as she opened her Charms textbook.
"Well I figured that one out myself," Max chuckled as Vanessa folded her arms.
"He's such a bigot!" She exclaimed.
"He does hang out with one of the biggest twats I've ever met," Max agreed. Harry and Ron were his friends, but it didn't mean he thought of them the same way he thought of his best friend. Harry was a very naïve boy and Ron had obviously had some misguided views shoved on him as a child. And now, they were both acting like morons.
"Now Max, don't talk about yourself that way," Vanessa teased.
"Ha ha, very funny. Ron treats people like crap, mostly women, and I don't like it," he explained, happy to have someone to confide in. Vanessa nodded.
"You have a thing for the Granger girl, don't you?" With one look from Max, she coughed. "I mean, Hermione."
"No, I don't. She's just a nice girl. Actually, she reminds me a lot of you," Max said as he scratched something out on his essay.
"I am nothing like the mudblo-… that girl. I'm far more interesting," Vanessa told him, trying to censor herself. She never liked the word, but considering that Draco used it in almost every other sentence, she was starting to pick up some of his nasty habits. Max caught her using that word and frowned even more.
"Nessa… don't be like that," he said. She sighed and began to write a few more lines down on her potions essay.
"Sorry… I hear it a lot in the common room. Mostly the older kids are big upon saying it," she confessed. Max sighed and tapped his fingers.
"I wish you were in Gryffindor… then you would see they aren't so bad," he admitted.
"Your friends? Or muggle-borns?" she asked. Max pressed his lips together and frowned even further at his friend.
"You know what I mean… you're turning into a female version of Malfoy," he hissed. Vanessa stopped her writing and shot him a look.
"I am not! Look, I'm not the only one not happy with the other's friends. And he's not even my only friend. I've been hanging out with a few of the second year girls, and I really like them."
"Yes, but the only one who has seemed to have any real influence on you is Malfoy," Max hissed. Vanessa clenched her fist and slammed a book down and tossed it over to him.
"Read this and get some notes, you'll need it for your essay, since you refuse to pay attention. Honestly, how do you plan on passing if you can't even stay awake?" she hissed. Max began to chuckle and shook his head. She was more like Hermione than she knew. Her wondered for a moment if the two of them would be the top of their classes, despite neither being in Ravenclaw.
"Just… try not to let your new friends influence you too much, okay?" he asked. She gave a heavy sigh and looked into his blue eyes.
"Fine, as long as you keep Potter and that red headed mess away from me. Bloody idiots."
"And Hermione?" he asked. She scoffed and wrote the last few lines of her essay.
"Just keep her away from Malfoy and the rest of them, and I promise I won't say anything to her." He smiled and placed a hand on her arm.
"Thank you." She smiled and shrugged.
"Of course. Now finish your essay!"
Vanessa took her usual seat next to Draco for breakfast.
"Did you hear the news?" He asked. Vanessa looked up.
"What news?" She asked as she pulled some food onto her plate. Draco narrowed his eyes as he looked over to the Gryffindor table.
"They made Potter the Gryffindor seeker," he practically snarled. Vanessa looked up to where Harry was sitting. People would walk by and pat him on the back, congratulating him as they passed.
"Really? I thought first years weren't allowed to join the Quidditch team?" She inquired. At least, that's what Max told her. He wanted to go out for the team himself, but said he had to wait until next year.
"They're not, but of course Potter is too good for the rules. If I could, I'd go out for the Slytherin team," Draco declared. Crabbe and Goyle agreed like the good lackeys they were while Vanessa nodded into her food.
"Well, you've got some talent," she agreed. Draco turned to her.
"Some?"
"You know what I mean."
"Harry, that's bloody brilliant!" Ron declared as Fred and George walked away.
"I don't understand what the all the fuss is about," Hermione mumbled as she carefully arranged the food on her plate.
"They don't let first years play Quidditch," Max told her. She rolled her eyes.
"All you boys talked about is Quidditch," she mumbled.
"I know, it's amazing!" Harry said happily as Ron patted him on the back.
"Do you even know how to play?" Max asked as he pulled out his Potions essay. He was almost finished, but he didn't have the class until the end of the day.
"Oliver Wood is going to help me later," Harry declared.
"Well, if you ever want someone to pal around with, just let me know. I've been playing Quidditch for awhile now," Max offered. Harry nodded happily before turning back to his breakfast.
"Aren't you bloody perfect," Ron spat. Max looked up from his essay to glare at the redhead.
"You're just jealous because you know I could whoop your ass from here to the Quidditch field," Max countered. Ron went to open his mouth again, but Harry nudged him.
"Come on, let's not fight!"
Max gave a small yawn as he watched the short charms professor begin to tell them about how to levitate a feather. He honestly didn't care, but he assumed it would be important so he paid attention. That and he was afraid what Vanessa might do if he didn't.
"Swish and flick… now come on, try it out!" he said. Max gave a small yawn and turned toward his feather. Maybe if he just threw it up in the air he could fool the man into thinking he levitated it. The thought banished from his head as he began to try in incantation, though nothing happened.
"It's Levi-o-sa, not Leviosar," Hermione corrected. Ron glared at her and crossed his arms.
"You do it then," he snapped. She shrugged and looked down at her feather.
"Wingardium Leviosa." A second later her feather was up in the air, much to Ron's displeasure.
"Well done! Look everyone, Miss Granger's got it!" the professor called. Ron frowned and scrunched his nose, but the moment was soon over when a loud explosion echoed out and they saw Seamus covered in black soot and his feather on fire.
"We're going to need another feather, Professor," he said.
"Would you stop making things float?" Draco hissed. Vanessa smirked and placed the apple on his head, much to his displeasure.
"Jealous Draco? You may be able to fly around on your little broom stick, but I am far superior when it comes to charms and spells," Vanessa gloated.
"You might even give that mudblood a run for her money," he snapped. Vanessa rolled her eyes and shook her head.
"It's Halloween, at least act pleasant," she snapped, turning toward the girl next to her and starting a conversation. Draco shook his head and looked toward Goyle.
"Is your cousin always like this?" he asked. Goyle looked over to Vanessa and shrugged.
"Normally she is more full of herself," he confessed. Vanessa heard him and threw some food at him, causing the first years to chuckle.
Max glanced down the table and noted that Hermione was not at the table. Harry seemed to notice as well.
"Where is Hermione?" he asked.
"Parvati Patil said she's wouldn't come out of the girl's bathroom. She said she's been there all afternoon, crying," Neville explained. Max frowned and looked at Ron, who frowned as well. He was not there for his comment, but if he was, he would've smacked him in the nose.
"Well, what do we do?" Max asked, staring sadly at Hermione's empty seat.
"Normally I'd say let her be, but we have been kind of treating her like crap," Ron admitted. Max and Harry turned to glare at him.
"No, you've been treating her like crap," Max defended. Ron shrugged.
"Same thing."
"Not really," Harry countered. Max brushed it off, knowing that fighting with Ron was like fighting with a four year old.
"So what should we do?" Ron asked. Max sighed in defeat, but suddenly he had an idea.
"I have an idea," he said before getting up from the table. He felt nervous as he crossed the room, students from all the different houses starring at him strangely. Finally, he approached his destination.
"Max, what are you doing here?" Vanessa asked as she looked up from her conversation with a slightly overweight girl. She glared at Max, but he ignored her as he sat down next to Vanessa.
"Can I ask for a favor?" He asked. Vanessa sighed.
"No, I'm not doing your Charms research for you," she told him. Max frowned.
"Well, that saves me the trouble of asking later, but that's not it." Vanessa raised an eyebrow, but before she could reply, a voice cut in.
"Well look what we've got here," Draco said as he approached his normal seat. Max looked up and realized he'd been sitting in the blonde's normal seat. Being the polite boy his mother raised him to be, he got up and offered Draco the seat. Vanessa could see the insult forming on the tip of Draco's tongue.
"Draco, no," she snapped. Draco opened his mouth, but closed it right away before taking his seat. Max turned back to Vanessa.
"Listen, can you do me a favor and talk to Hermione?" Max pleaded.
"Um, why?" Vanessa asked. She'd promised to be nicer to his friend, but becoming her friend hadn't been part of the deal.
"Ron said something really nasty to her and she's been in the girl's bathroom all day. I'd go, but I'm lacking the equipment for that," he admitted. Vanessa gave him a wicked smile.
"I can look up a spell to change that," she offered.
"Nessa…" Max trailed off, giving her the best pleading look that he could.
"Fine, fine, I'm going."
"You're going to help him? Draco asked. Vanessa shrugged and took a bite of her roll before setting it down.
"Um… yeah. I'll be back," she said. She patted Max on the head as she turned toward the exit and began walking out. Max smiled and turned back to his table, sitting down where he head before.
"What was that about?" Ron asked.
"I asked Vanessa to see if she was alright," Max admitted.
"You sent her in after Hermione?" Harry asked, a bit appalled.
"Just relax. She's not going to jinx her or anything. What's the worst that can happen?" he asked. The next second the doors opened and Professor Quirrell came in screaming.
"TROLL IN THE DUNGEON! TROLL IN THE DUNGEON!" he paused as there was a deathly silence between them. "Thought you ought to know," he breathed. A second later, the room erupted in screams and Dumbledore stood up.
"Silence!" Everyone became quiet and Max felt his blood run cold. He had never seen a troll, but he had heard enough from his parents to know they were bad news.
"Everyone will please not panic! Now prefects please escort your house to the dormitories. Teachers will follow me to the dungeons," he instructed. Immediately, everyone began to move, with Harry, Ron, and Max huddled together.
"How could a troll get into the dungeon?" Harry asked.
"No clue. Trolls are stupid though. Someone must have let it in as a joke," Ron explained.
"Some joke…" Max mumbled. A minute later, Harry stopped, causing both boys to turn toward him.
"What?" Harry's eyes went wide and his face turned pale.
"Hermione… she doesn't know!" Max also turned pale.
"Vanessa…"
"Gran- erm…. Hermione?" Vanessa called. She had left the great hall and passed a Professor Quirrell on her way to the bathroom, but thought nothing of it as she found the bathroom the girl was in. The sound of sobbing echoed through the bathroom as Hermione opened the door and furrowed her eyebrows at the other girl.
"W-what do you want?" she asked. Vanessa noticed her hand inching toward her wand, but tired to ignore it.
"Um… Max said that you were upset and asked me to make sure you were alright," Vanessa explained. The girl was obviously not alright, that much was obvious. Vanessa couldn't help but feel bad for her.
"Oh… that was nice of you, but I'm alright." Vanessa raised a red eyebrow and held back the urge to scoff.
"Please, no offense, but you looked like someone killed your cat," she pointed out. Hermione sniffled a bit and wiped her eyes.
"I'm fine, Ron just-"
"-I knew it. Listen, the boy is a bloody idiot, and deserves to have the worst jinx put on him known to man. I wouldn't worry about it, boys are stupid. I mean, I can give him a real nasty curse if you'd like." Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"Why are you helping me? I'm… well…" she trailed off.
"Because Max asked me too. Listen, if this Wesley boy or Potter ever trouble you, I'll teach you a nice little jinx to make them back off," Vanessa told her.
"I don't know… that might be a little-"
"-Listen, nothing says don't mess with me like a bat boogies jinx." This got Hermione to chuckle.
"You know, Harry and Ron really were wrong about you. Not all Slytherins are bad," she admitted, trying to sound grateful. Still, Vanessa was resisting taking offense to her statement.
"Who says I'm not bad?" She said with a sly smile. Max called it the Slytherin smile.
"Max does. He's always telling us about how awesome you are, and he's right," Hermione said with a smile. Vanessa returned her smile.
"Well thanks." Hermione walked over to the sink to wash off her face quickly.
"I suppose we should really get out of here," she said when she was finished as they headed towards the exit.
"Good plan." Before they could leave though, a loud crash was heard. Vanessa backed up as a large troll smashed through the entrance of the girl's bathroom.
"What in the name of Merlin's beard is that?" Vanessa grabbed a hold of her robes and gently pulled her back with her.
"That would be a troll," she confessed. Hermione's eyes went wide and pulled her into a stall. A second later, Vanessa forced the Gryffindor girl to duck as the stalls suddenly became missing. In return, Hermione grabbed a hold of her sleeve and both of them crawled away toward the sinks, which the troll smashed too. Hermione looked over and saw three figures at the door, which caused a flicker of hope to brew in her stomach.
"Help!" she cried. Vanessa looked over and her pale green eyes met his glass framed emerald.
"Don't stand there! Help out!" She screamed.
"Hey! Pea brain!" Ron called. All three of the boys began to throw broken bricks at the monster. The troll momentarily forgot about the girls and turned toward the boys. Harry immediately lifted his want to try and cast a spell, but the creature grabbed him by his leg and held him in the air. Both Ron and Max stood back in shocked and seemed at a loss to do anything.
"Do something!" Harry called.
"Like what?" Both boys answered.
"Anything!" he called. Max thought about it and pulled out his wand. Ron followed in suit and both of them stared at the club the troll held.
"Swish and flick!"
"Wingardium Leviosa!" There was a pause before the club became suspended in midair and both Max and Ron were smiling.
"Cool…" Ron muttered. Max nodded and a moment later, the club dropped onto the troll's head. He dropped Harry to the floor before falling down himself. Vanessa pulled on Hermione's wrist and they crawled out from under the sink. Both girls ran towards Max. Vanessa threw herself into Max's arms while Hermione stood shyly next to her. Max gestured for her to join the hug too.
"Hey, I helped too!" Ron said. Hermione turned to hug him as well, but Vanessa shook her head.
"See, you're not as bad at Charms as you thought you were," she told Max. He shrugged and gave her a half smile.
"Think I can get some extra credit for that?" He asked. Harry rejoined the group as everyone turned toward the troll.
"Is it dead?" Hermione asked weakly.
"No, just knocked out," Harry said confidently as he searched for his wand. Vanessa gestured to the troll's nose.
"You might want your wand back," she said, thoroughly enjoying the look of disgust on Harry's face.
"Ugh…" He mumbled, removing his wand from the troll's nose. Max chuckled as he tried to wipe the snot away on his robes.
"Troll boogies," Ron confirmed, equally as disgusted.
"Oh my goodness! Explain yourselves, all of you!" McGonagall demanded as he scurried into the bathroom. Professors Quirrell and Snape were right behind her.
"Well, you see-" Harry started, but Hermione cut him off.
"It's my fault, Professor McGonagall," Hermione said, tears forming in her eyes.
"Ms. Granger?" She asked, completely appalled that one of her best students would do such a thing.
"I went looking for the troll. I've read about them and I thought I could handle it. But I was wrong," Hermione admitted, tears still forming in her eyes. Max, Harry, and Ron starred at the bookworm with surprised looks on their faces. The Hermione they thought they knew would never lie to a professor like that. Vanessa, on the other hand, was impressed. Perhaps Hermione wasn't the goody-two shoes that she once thought.
"Hermione…" Max said, stepping forward, but she just shook her head.
"If these four hadn't come and found me… I'd probably be dead," she said, giving the four of them a look of gratitude. Professor McGonagall looked at the three Gryffindors before looking at Vanessa. She would be lying if she wasn't surprised she was there. Slytherin students tended to avoid Gryffindors at all costs. Vanessa sensed the woman's eyes on her and pointed toward Hermione.
"Her idea," she said. McGonagall sighed and turned toward her students.
"Be that as it may, it was an extremely foolish thing to do. I would have expected more rational behavior on your part and am very disappointed in you Miss. Granger. Five points will be taken from Gryffindor for your serious lack of judgment." Hermione looked down in shame for losing her house some points.
"As for you four, I just hope you realize how fortunate you are. Not many first year students could take on a fully grown mountain troll and live to tell the tale. Five points will be awarded to each of you, for sheer dumb luck," she said, rolling her eyes and walking out of the bathroom. All of them exchanged looks of relief and watched as Professor Snape glared at his student.
"It would be wise of you, Miss Cook, to avoid being in the wrong place at the wrong time," he said. She gave a nod and watched him leave the room, much to the students' relief. Professor Quirrell looked at them and gave a small smile.
"P-perhaps you ought to go. It m-might wake up," he said, stuttering a bit. All five of them exited the bathroom and Vanessa turned toward Max.
"That is the last time I do a favor for you. I go to cheer a girl up and get attacked by a cave troll, bloody hell," Vanessa snapped. Max smiled and hugged her again.
"Thank you Vanessa," he said. She rolled her eyes and pulled away.
"I'm leaving before I get the whole Gryffindor brave and virtuous feeling. I would rather not feel bad about putting Dragon Dung in Parkinson's bed." Max rolled his eyes and said a quick goodbye as she turned around and began walking. Hermione then stepped forward.
"Vanessa!" the Slytherin girl turned around and raised an eyebrow.
"Yes?" Hermione offered her a smile.
"Thank you…" Vanessa gave a mock bow and pointed to her nose.
"Don't forget, Bat Boogies," she replied before walking away. Hermione just smiled and turned toward the boys.
"What are we doing out here?" Harry asked as Max lead them down to the Quidditch field.
"I know you've been training with Oliver Wood, but the big game against Slytherin is coming up soon and I figured we could help you train," Max suggested. Ron nodded.
"Oh yeah, because we're totally top notch Quidditch players right here," he mumbled. Hermione elbowed him.
"Max is just trying to help Harry out," she reasoned. Harry scratched his head as Max pulled out a few brooms.
"I appreciate it, but I don't think I need it," Harry said as Max shoved the broom into his hand.
"Is that so? Then you'll have no problem getting your glasses back," Max said. Harry raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about? I have my glasses right here," Harry said. Max pulled out his wand.
"Accio glasses," he said, thankful for Vanessa finding that little charm in a book. Harry's glasses shot into his hand before he mounted his broom and took off into the stadium.
"Well that wasn't very nice of him," Ron grumbled. Reluctantly, Harry mounted his broom and kicked off.
"Be careful, Harry!" Harry ignored her and flew in the general direction he thought Max went.
"Hey, come on! I can't see without those," he called. Max gave him a sympathetic look before chucking them to the side.
"Go get them!" Harry realized what he meant and took off immediately. Max just sat back and watched as the seeker in training dove down to catch them right before they hit the ground. Hermione clapped and Ron smiled at his triumph as Harry turned back to Max.
"That wasn't nice at all. I think Cook is rubbing off on you," he snapped. Max rolled his eyes and pulled out a snitch.
"Alright, alright. Hey Ron! Come on, we need to play!" he called.
"I still think this is absurd," Harry muttered.
"Don't worry, Potter, we'll have you ready for this game in no time."
"Becky!" Rebecca turned toward the sound of the voice and smiled lightly as Vanessa ran over to her.
"Hi, Vanessa… what are you up to?" she asked.
"Oh, I was going to find a place to read, but I saw you and thought I might as well say hi!" Rebecca chuckled and smiled.
"Thanks, I was about to walk around the grounds for a little, care to join?" she asked. Vanessa smiled and wrapped her scarf around her.
"Yup, anything to get away from all this talk about Quidditch," she said. Both girls began their walk and headed toward Hagrid's cabin.
"You don't like Quidditch?" Rebecca asked. Vanessa scrunched her nose and shook her head.
"No way. Max always made me play the game with him when we were little, despite the fact that I hate flying."
"You hate it? I always kind of liked it. It seems like freedom, you know?" Vanessa shrugged and watched as the groundkeeper made his way out of the forest. He seemed nice enough, but she was a bit afraid to talk to him. In her defense, he was about six feet taller than her.
"I guess. If we were meant to fly we would have wings. I like my feet firmly on the ground." Rebecca shrugged and closed her robes in an effort to keep warm.
"You excited for the game tomorrow?"
"Um… no. I tried to see if I can just stay in the common room and read, but Draco said that if I didn't go, he would tell Parkinson that it was me who poured water in her shoes," she confessed. Rebecca looked a little appalled by the statement.
"Why would you do that?" she asked.
"Because it's funny and she's rude. Who are you rooting for?" Vanessa asked. Rebecca blushed ever so slightly and shrugged.
"I think I'm rooting for Gryffindor…"
"You and the other half of the school. It's okay. I'm rooting for a tie so they can both shut the hell up." Rebecca laughed and shook her head. Never in a million years did she think she would be friends with a Slytherin. Yet, as she heard the girls plans to prank her cousin, she was immensely glad she was. Better to be with her than against her.
Harry starred down at his plate and sighed.
"Take a bit of toast, mate. Go on," Ron encouraged, but Harry just shook his head.
"Ron's right, Harry. You're going to need your strength today," Hermione tried, but Harry just shook his head once more.
"I'm not hungry," he replied dryly. Max sighed and picked up some toast before shoving it on his plate.
"Eat it or I'm playing your position today," Max threatened. Harry glared at him before picking up a piece of toast and taking a bite out of it. As soon as he took his first bite, he began piling more food on his plate.
"What was that about?" Hermione wondered out loud. Max chuckled.
"The stress was making him feel like he wasn't hungry, but as soon as he got some food in him, he realized he was starving," Max explained.
"Happen to you often?" Hermione asked. He shrugged, but nodded.
"A few times. It was a trick Vanessa taught me, actually," he told her. Hermione smiled before turning back to her homework. Ron grabbed a piece of bacon off one of the many plates before them and shoved it into his mouth.
"Vanessa this and Vanessa that. Perhaps you just marry the girl!" Ron declared.
"You're a git, you know that?" Max mumbled. Before Ron could reply, a shadow covered the table. Everyone looked behind Ron to see Professor Snape hovering nearby.
"Good luck today, Potter. Then again, now that you've proven yourself against a troll, a little game of Quidditch should be easy work for you. Even if it is against Slytherin," he said, though his statement sounded more like a challenge than anything else. He said nothing else as he began to walk away, limping just ever so slightly. Harry furrowed his eyebrows at the motion before a light bulb went off in his head.
"That explains the blood," he mumbled.
"What blood?" Hermione asked.
"Listen, last night, I'm guessing Snape let the troll in as diversion so he could get past that three headed dog. But, he got bit, that's why he's limping." Max looked at the group confused.
"Why would anyone want to go near that dog?" Hermione asked.
"What dog?"
"We got stuck up on the third floor and found… a three headed giant dog standing on top of a trap door," Harry explained.
"And you think that Snape wanted to go wrestle with a three headed giant dog?" Max asked.
"If he lost, that's probably why he's so crabby," Ron chimed in.
"The day I was at Gringotts, Hagrid took something out of one of the vaults. Said it was Hogwarts business, very secret," Harry said, obviously not paying attention to the others conversation.
"So what you're say is-"
"-That's what the dog is guarding. That is what Snape is after." Before anyone could add anything, a owl flew in and dropped a parcel in front of Harry. Hermione raised an eyebrow.
"It's a bit early for mail, isn't it?" she asked.
"I never get any mail," Harry muttered.
"Let's open it!" Ron exclaimed. All four of them began to dig into the package, only to back off and let a small gasp escape each of their mouths.
"It's a broomstick!" Harry said in awe.
"It's not just a broomstick, Harry. It's a Nimbus 2000!" Max looked as though he were on the verge of tears.
"It's the fastest broom in the Nimbus series. It's… bloody hell, what I wouldn't do for this broom," Max said quietly.
"But who…" Harry trailed off and looked to McGonagall, who was lightly petting Harry's owl. He smiled lightly, but his attention was drawn back to the group when Max spoke.
"If you get into a coma during this game, can I have your broom?"
Max settled into his seat next to Hermione. Ron sat on the other side of her, practically bouncing in his seat.
"This is going to be awesome! We're going to clobber Slytherin for sure!" Ron exclaimed. Max chuckled.
"We better, I didn't teach all that stuff to Harry for nothing," he grumbled. Hermione patted him on the shoulder.
"I'm sure Harry will do amazing," she reassured him.
"Hello! Welcome to Hogwart's first Quidditch game of the season! Today's game; Slytherin vs. Gryffindor! The player's take their positions as Madam Hooch steps onto the field to begin the game!" Lee Jordan announced. Hermione held up her binoculars to get a better view of the field. The stands weren't made for a person to be able to see the field clearly.
"Now, I want a nice clean game… from all of you!" Madam Hooch said as the captain's shook hands. Oliver Wood's face remained emotionless as Marcus Flint glared at the fellow captain.
"The Bludgers are up. Followed by the Golden Snitch. Remember the Snitch is worth 150 points. The Seeker who catches the Snitch ends the game. The Quaffle is released and the game begins!" Max scoffed from his seat.
"Seriously, why are people even out here if they don't know how the beautiful game is played!" He mumbled. They watched in silence as the catchers tried franticly to gain position of the Quaffle. After what felt like forever, someone finally scored.
"Angelina Johnson scores! Ten points for Gryffindor!" The game continued and a second later, Max heard the booming voice of Hagrid behind him.
"What's going on with Harry's broomstick?" he asked. All three of the students looked up and saw the brand new broom jerking around, causing confused looks from everyone.
"It's Snape, he's jinxing the broomstick," Hermione pointed out, as she looked across the field to the teachers section through her binoculars. Both Max and Ron looked at her shocked and appalled.
"No way!" Max whispered.
"Jinxing the broom? What do we do?" Ron asked. Hermione paused for a moment before turned toward them and handing Ron her binoculars.
"Wait here, I have an idea," she said. Ron looked a little bemused, but shrugged it off and turned back to Harry. He seemed to be holding on for dear life, and more than just the three of them noticed. Soon other Gryffindor players were watching curiously and calling out Harry's name, as if that would help the poor boy out.
"Come on, Hermione," Ron muttered.
"She better be quick, he's going to fall off that broom any minute now." Ron frowned as he realized that the other boy's words were quite true. A second later, flames erupted in the general area where Snape and some other teachers were sitting. Everyone looked up to see that Harry's broom was stilled.
"Go! Go! Go!" Hagrid called.
"Come on, Harry!" Max shouted. Harry suddenly dove to the ground and stood on his broom, ready to catch the little golden ball. A second later, he flipped over and was suddenly on the ground. The whole audience gasped and there was a collective pause as everyone watched him stand up. Harry gagged a couple of times and Hagrid raised an eyebrow.
"He looks like he's going to be sick!" he pointed out. A second later, he spit out the snitch and held it in his hands.
"He's got the snitch! Harry Potter receives 150 points for catching the golden snitch!"
"Gryffindor Wins!" The entire stadium erupted in cheers with the exception of the Slytherins, and soon a bunch of students were rushing out onto the field to cheer Harry on.
Vanessa sighed as she finished practicing the new Charm that Professor Flitwick taught them in class. After Gryffindor won, the whole Slytherin house was miserable. Even Pansy wasn't here usual annoying self. Still annoying, but not as bad.
"Care for some company?" A voice called out in the darkness. Vanessa looked up in the dark dungeon and sighed.
"Not really. I was planning on heading to bed soon," she admitted, hoping he would go away. He was only her friend because she didn't really know who else to stick with.
"Oh…" His blonde hair almost seemed to glow in the low light of the candle as he took a seat across from her in one of the armchairs.
"Not the confident jerk you usually are," she pointed out. He shrugged.
"The fact that you believe it makes you the bigger fool," he countered. Vanessa started packing up her stuff, completely oblivious to his words.
"What are you talking about?" She asked, slightly annoyed.
"'I'm only like that because I'm a Malfoy and I have a reputation to uphold," he explained. Vanessa stopped packing up to look at him.
"So you're trying to tell me that you're not really a jerk?" She asked, not believing him. Draco chuckled.
"Well, I am kind of a jerk. But I only act like a git because it's how I was raised," he defended. Vanessa rolled her eyes.
"That's a pretty level headed thing to say for someone who was 'raised' to be a twat," she pointed out. Draco nodded and placed his feet on the coffee table now that her things were gone.
"And you're pretty mature for an eleven year old, but what can you do," he replied. They sat in silence for a few minutes as her candle began to burn down low.
"You're not so bad, I suppose," she stated. Draco nodded.
"I'm a lot better than most of the guys in this school," he said proudly, giving her his trademark sneer. Vanessa just chuckled and rolled her eyes.
"Were you raised to be this cocky too?" She asked. Draco chuckled as he rose from his seat.
"Wouldn't you like to know?" He challenged before walking away. Vanessa sighed before blowing out her candle. Maybe Draco wasn't as bad as she originally thought.
"Great going, Harry!" Max congratulated for at least the tenth time that night. Harry smiled proudly.
"If you hadn't pushed me to do that move when we practice, I probably wouldn't have caught the snitch," he admitted. Max gave him a pat on the back, unable to hide the smile on his face.
"Maybe, but there might have been a chance later on in the game. Point is, Gryffindor won and this is the perfect chance for me to rub it in Vanessa's face," he said with his sly smile. Hermione shook her head.
"You know, normally you're a pretty respectful and chivalrous guy, but whenever it comes to Vanessa, you act like such a child," she pointed out. Max nodded.
"We grew up together and she's like my sister. That's kind of how you treat your siblings," he explained. Hermione and Harry exchanged confused glances as Max realized the error of his ways.
"We're kind of both only children…" Hermione trailed off. Ron finally decided to interject.
"Well, I've got plenty of siblings and Max is right, the worse you treat your siblings, the more love there is!" He exclaimed. Max nodded.
"For once, I agree with you." The two boys laughed as Hermione turned back to Harry.
"That makes no sense at all…"
"Nonsense, why would Snape put a curse on Harry's broom?" Hagrid said as he tended to his garden.
"Who knows? Why was he trying to get past the three-headed dog on Halloween?" Harry exclaimed. Hagrid's eyes went wide as he stopped what he was doing.
"Who told you about Fluffy?" Hagrid asked quickly, his eyes shifting between the four preteens.
"Fluffy?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows in shock.
"That thing has a name?" Hermione asked in disbelief. The memory of the frightening three-headed dog was still fresh in her memory.
"You know, that's what my mum wanted me to name Mask," Max interjected, but closed his mouth as the rest of the group shot him a glare.
"Well of course he's got a name! He's mine! I bought him off an Irish feller I met down at the pub last year. Then I lent him to Dumbledore to guard the-" Hagrid stopped himself, realizing that he said too much. But the anxious look on Harry's face only get more determined.
"Yes?" He asked, trying to sway the half-giant into continuing his sentence.
"I shouldn't have said that," he mumbled, bringing a hand to his face in shame. Max shrugged.
"You shouldn't have, but you did. Now come on, don't leave us hanging!" Max tried, but Hagrid just shook his head.
"No more questions! Don't ask anymore questions! That's top secret, that is!" Hagrid said, having a mini-freak out. Max sighed.
"So much for that," he mumbled, but Harry wasn't giving up so soon.
"But Hagrid, whatever Fluffy's guarding, Snape's trying to steal it," Harry tried to reason, but his words only seemed to drive Hagrid farther away from telling them anything.
"Codswallop! Professor Snape is a Hogwarts teacher!" He exclaimed, defending the Potions Master. Hermione decided to step in.
"Hogwarts teacher or not, I know a spell when I see one! I've read all about them. You've got to keep eye contact and Snape wasn't blinking!" She reasoned, trying to convince Hagrid that Snape wasn't the innocent teacher that he believed.
"Exactly," Harry said, trying to back Hermione up.
"Seriously, get your own facts and stop trying to play off hers," Max mumbled as he took a seat on Hagrid's stoop.
"Now listen to me, all four of you, you're meddling in things that ought not be meddled in. It's dangerous! What that dog is guarding is strictly between Dumbledore and Nicholas Flamel," Hagrid told them, trying to get them to forget the subject entirely. However, his words only proved to draw them in even more.
"Nicholas Flamel?" All of them got a confused look on their faces.
"I shouldn't have said that. I should not have said that," he mumbled. He began to walk away and the four of them looked at each other.
"Who is Nicholas Flamel?" Harry asked. Hermione shrugged and shook her head.
"I don't know…"
"Daphne, have you seen my book?" Vanessa asked.
"Did you check under your bed?" Tracey asked. Vanessa looked under her bed and smiled when she saw it.
"Tracey, you're the best. Just don't tell Daphne," she said, picking it up and placing it in her trunk.
"Hey!" Vanessa laughed and closed up her things. The three of them had grown quite close when they all ganged up on Pansy for getting them detentions with Snape. Though she still hung out with Draco every once in a while, she did enjoy getting away from all the Gryffindor bashing. While Tracey and Daphne didn't particularly like Gryffindors, they simply let them be and laugh when the others pulled a prank.
"I cannot wait to go home!" Vanessa said, dropping her trunk on the ground and wrapping a scarf around her neck.
"Excited for Christmas?" Daphne asked, doing the same. Tracey was staying home for the break, but was helping both girls pack.
"And my birthday! Daddy always takes me out to Diagon Alley and takes me shopping."
"When is your birthday?" Tracey asked.
"December twenty-seventh. Oh no… I need to meet Max. Have a happy Christmas, Tracey!" Vanessa said. Daphne said goodbye and the two girls made their way out from the dungeons. Instead of going to the great hall with her, Daphne decided to leave immediately and left Vanessa to find Max. She found him talking to his group of Gryffindors and she made her way over.
"Change of plans. My parents have decided to go to Romania to visit my brother Charlie. He's studying dragons there," Ron said. Vanessa stopped next to Max and smiled at him, then gave a small nod to Hermione.
"Hello, Vanessa. Going home for break?" Hermione asked. Vanessa nodded.
"Yes. Mum and Dad want to hear all about school, apparently letter's aren't enough." Max chuckled, knowing her parents all too well.
"Hope you have fun cursing little children and stealing chocolate frogs from babies," Ron muttered.
"Would you like me to test a few curses out on you? I wouldn't want to be rusty when attacking children, Wesley," she hissed. Ron shot her a look, but said nothing in return.
"Be nice," Max hissed. Vanessa rolled her eyes and leaned against her trunk.
"If you're staying here for Christmas you can help Harry. He's going to look in the library for information on Nicholas Flamel." Ron looked exasperated and shot his best friend a look.
"We've looked a hundred times!" he mumbled. Hermione leaned forward and smiled.
"Not in the restricted section… Happy Christmas," she said. Vanessa smiled widely and followed the girl out of the great hall.
"Miss Granger, I have a feeling we might actually be great friends. Just don't tell my parents you're a muggle-born," she said. Hermione raised an eyebrow and walked with her to the carriages leading to the station.
"I'll keep that in mind."
"Maximilian! Oh, my baby boy! We've missed you!" Nicole said, scooping her boy up in her arms. Max blushed a light red, but hugged his mother back.
"I've missed you too, mum," he muttered. As if she had been bitten, she pulled back.
"Excuse me, if you're going to have that attitude about it, you can just go back to that school," she said. Max looked over his mother's shoulder to see his father trying to resist bursting out into laughter.
"I'm sorry, mum. I really did miss you though," he said, this time not muttering it. Nicole smile, pleased at his response.
"Good. Now, your grandmother is coming up this weekend for Christmas so we're going to clean the house. You know what that means…" Nicole trailed off as Max groaned.
"She doesn't go in my room! Why do I have to clean it?" Max whined in protest, but one glare from his mother silenced him. Charles burst out laughing, unable to hold it in anymore.
"If you can get that room of yours cleaned today, then you can hang out with Vanessa until Grams gets here," he said. Max smiled and rushed off towards the car.
"What are we waiting for?"
"There she is!" Vanessa smiled at the familiar tone of her father's voice. Moments later, his dark flaming red hair came into view. Next to him, her mother stood tapping her foot impatiently.
"Hey mum, hey daddy!" She said as she ran towards her father, his arms outstretched and waiting for her.
"We were worried about you, princess," he said, using one of his many pet names for her.
"We saw Max get off the train about five minutes ago, but you weren't with him and we were worried," Anna said as Vanessa turned from her father to her.
"I lost something on the train," she admitted. Her father chuckled.
"Another brush?" He asked. Vanessa shook her head, remembering the letter she sent to her parents about the missing brush that Max found.
"No, this time it was my wand." Anna and Daniel exchanged looks.
"You lost your wand?" Anna asked, trying to control her temper.
"I found it though!" She replied quickly, knowing how her parents sometimes got.
"And where was it?" Daniel asked as his daughter's cheeks went red. He found the whole situation rather amusing, unlike his wife. Perhaps it was just because his baby had finally come home or the Christmas spirit had finally caught up to him, but Daniel felt great. Anna, on the other hand, did not share his amusement. Vanessa mumbled something as she looked down at her shoes.
"Excuse me?" Her mother asked, lifting her daughter's chin up. Vanessa gave her mother a guilty half-smile.
"It was behind my ear," she admitted. Daniel burst out laughing, but quickly restrained himself with one look from his wife.
"Vanessa Anne Cook, you scare me sometimes," Anna muttered. Vanessa ignored her mothers comment and let her father lead her out of the station.
"Come on, let's get home before you forget something else," he said. Vanessa chuckled but Anna rolled her eyes.
"Don't tempt her, she might do it just to get on my nerves," she snapped.
"Oh mother, would ever do that to you?" Vanessa asked.
"Yes…" Vanessa paused an looked down in mock shame.
"You're right… oh well. Did you make cookies?"
Jeck:
Raxsah: I don't think that's possible. I mean… it'd be weird to respond to a review to a story that hasn't even been published yet. It's like… our readers are reading our minds. But they haven't so no worries. Can you tell I've had a bit too much sugar?
Jeck: Word, my home dawg. On another note, we'd like your opinion. Fangirl rants, criticism, ideas, etc. will be accepted. If you flame us, I will eat your children. All of them, not just the first born.
Raxsah: I won't… just because I'm not into the whole eating babies thing. Though we'd like your feed back. Characters might be a little out of their character, and it might be AU sometimes but… we like to write, and this is what we came up with. So there! But let us know what you think, what you predict for the future. We'd love to know.
Jeck: For the record, no, I don't like Ron. However, I'm trying to not let that affect how I write him. You know, other than the fact he's an asshole and treats his friends like shit.
Raxsah: Don't worry, I'm trying to make up for it. Because I like Ron. He always ends up coming back. Then again, I'm also someone who thinks Draco is just misunderstood.
Jeck: This is can see. I like Draco. I just think he is the way he is because of his family. Ron… has no excuses.
Raxsah: We're not having this conversation. Don't worry, I already have a few scenes where he won't be too bad. I will save Ron from Jeck's wrath. But yes, leave a review, we appreciate it. We could use the support while we're struggling at College.
Jeck: Can we not talk about college? I'd prefer not to think how miserable I'm going to be in 8 hours… readers, review. Writers? Time for bed soon, me thinks. We do apologize, but because of classes and the limited time we can talk to each other and write, updates will not be happening every Sunday. Not that we did a good job with that anyway. Expect maybe once a month, two if you're lucky.
Raxsah: Believe me, if we are getting together via IM, we'll probably be writing. But we have yet to know how many times we'll actually be able to talk to each other. Sadly.
Jeck: I've got a mad crazy schedule. Monday and Wednesdays are extremes, so we know those are out. But people in my dorm keep throwing these random parties. Which is why we're updating so late. Steelers party.
Raxsah: And I have no life. My days are spent studying and looking for a job. Oh well. Hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Much more is on the way. Later lovelies.
Jeck: To our new readers, this may come as a shock to you. For our faithful readers, this is not new. ZOMBIE SEX FACE! :D