Alex sighed as she flipped to another page in her potions textbook, trying to find the correct formula for the Illumination Potion, that she needed to memorize for the mid-year test in a week. She had about an hour before curfew, and she was determined to make the most of it. She was in Advanced Potions class this year, and it was a lot harder than she had expected, especially on top of a full load of other advanced classes.
Her eyes were felt heavy and gritty, she was exhausted, and her stomach was growling, because she had skipped dinner in order to study. She just had to pass this test.Yawning, Alex rubbed her eyes, before turning back page, and finally found what she was looking for.
Maggie stood quietly at the doorway of the Library, watching her girlfriend write something down on parchment, before yawning and turn back to her book once more. Alex looked so tired, and Maggie felt like she hadn't seen her in a couple days, as the stress from studying for the mid-year tests were getting to her. Kara Danvers, a fellow Hufflepuff, and Alex's little sister had come up to her during dinner, and had told her that Alex was in the library. Kara had also confessed that Alex had received letter from their mother a couple of days ago, and that Alex had been acting strangely ever since.
"Hey." Maggie finally called out to her girlfriend, when she saw Alex's head start to bob, from falling asleep.
Alex's head jerked up, and she looked startled.
"Hey, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to frighten you, babe." Maggie said, quickly going over to her side and bending down next to Alex's chair.
"It's ok. Um, Hi." Alex said, nervously. She knew that she hadn't seen her girlfriend much lately, and that Maggie was probably mad at her for it. Everyone seemed to be mad at her these days.
"Hi yourself, sweetheart. I haven't seen you in a couple of days, and I wanted to check up on you." Maggie said, putting her hand on Alex's shoulder. Alex's muscles were tense, they felt the steel bands under her skin.
"I know and I'm sorry. I haven't been a very good girlfriend lately, and I know that you're mad at me for it, and you should be and…"
"Hey!" Maggie interrupted. "Danvers, it's ok. I'm not mad. You've been studying, I totally understand that. But, I'm worried about you. You look exhausted, and both Kara and I've noticed you've been skipping meals?"
Alex wouldn't look at her, and Maggie knew that this wasn't just about studying and getting good reports, (although that was a large part of it, Alex liked getting good grades, and she wouldn't accept anything less than her best from herself) but more about the pressure that her mother put on her.
It started about the time that the Danvers had adopted Kara, who was a witch with special powers that no one had ever seen before. Kara had been born to a family of muggles, and had no clue about the Wizarding World. Alex's parents had told Alex to take her new sister under her wing and show her how to act and behave, and that had been a rough transition for both of them at first, but now they were inseparable.
Then when Alex's first year at Hogwarts, she had broken the family tradition of which house she belonged in. The Danvers had always been sorted into Ravenclaw, but the Sorting Hat, had sorted Alex into Slytherin, but to her dismay. Her parents told her that they were disappointed, that she broken the family tradition. Then Alex's second year was overshadowed by her father dying. Her mother never did say what he died of, but Alex had almost been inconsolable, but she passed the year with excellent marks.
Now this was Alex's third year and Kara's first. When Kara had been sorted into Hufflepuff, breaking the tradition yet again, it was Alex who had gotten a letter from her Mother, telling her that she should have been a better big sister, and shown Kara what it meant be a Ravenclaw, and that she was disappointed in Alex for Kara being a Hufflepuff. This seemed to happen a lot over the past year, every time Kara did something wrong, or got a bad grade, it was Alex who got a letter saying how her mother blamed her for Kara's behavior. And every time, Alex would get more and more quiet, and would devote all of her energy into her classes.
It was after Alex had gotten the first letter, that Kara had introduced Alex to Maggie, a fourth year Hufflepuff who had quickly become an best friend to the youngest Danvers sister. It had been love at first sight for Alex and Maggie and they had been dating ever since. Maggie was disheartened by the way that Alex's mother treated her, and wished with all of her heart that she could take that burden away from her girlfrIend.
"Alex, please. I'm not mad ok, i'm just worried about you, Kara is too, she told me that you got another letter?"
Alex flinched at the mention of the letter, a gesture that didn't go unnoticed by Maggie, but Maggie chose not to comment. "I don't want to talk about."
"Ok, we don't have to, but please come with me. You can go back to studying tomorrow. You need sleep and food, Danvers. And babe, how long have you been wearing your contacts?" Maggie asked. She saw Alex think about it, then she shrugged. "Probably too long then. Come on."
She grabbed Alex's hand and gently tugged on it,and looked at Alex with a sad puppy dog look. . After a second Alex relented and nodded, but then she quickly pulled Maggie to her, and kissed her softly and quietly before letting her go, then she stood up and gathered her things before she left the Library with Maggie.
They made a pit stop at the kitchen, where a former house-elf named Sprinkles made Alex a sandwich and had given her a cookie to cheer her up. Then they made their way down to the dungeons, where Maggie had kissed her, and had given her over into her best friend Lucy's hands since she wasn't allowed into the Slytherin's common room. Lucy had just put her arm around her best friend and assured Maggie that she would make sure that Alex got her contacts out and that she got a good night sleep.
"Good night, Alex." Maggie had said, hugging and kissing her one last time. She wished that she could do more to cheer up her girlfriend. Suddenly she had an idea. "Babe, meet me tomorrow morning at Professor M'orzz' hut. There is something that I want to show you."
Alex nodded sleepily and then Lucy winked at her and said that she would have Alex there on time. Maggie waited until the pair was safely behind the secret door, before heading back to the kitchen and her own dorm, eager for the next day and her surprise.
Alex woke up the next day to Lucy shaking her. "Get up and moving, Alex, your girlfriend is waiting for you."
The thought of seeing Maggie that morning, perked Alex up. She was still tired although not as tired as before, , her eyes still hurt, she knew that she would have to wear her glasses today, and she still had a lot of studying to do, but she was excited to see what surprise Maggie wanted to show her. Alex hurried through breakfast and then headed outside for Professor M'orzz' hut. Professor M'orzz was one of Alex's favorite teachers, she taught the Care of Magical Creatures class, one of the few subjects that came naturally to her and Maggie.
Alex found her girlfriend sitting on a bench close by the animal pens, reading a book. Alex was awestruck as she always was by her beauty.
"Hey babe." Alex said, walking over and taking a seat next to her. She leaned her head on Maggie's shoulder and sighed.
"Hey, Danvers." Maggie said, kissing the top of head, before putting an arm around her and pulling her closer. "You doing better today?"
Alex shrugged. "Not really, but I'm looking forward to seeing your surprise."
Maggie smiled. "You're going to love it. Come on." Maggie stood up and Alex followed, and they walked hand in hand to the pens, where the Professor was waiting for them.
"Alex, Maggie." M'gann said, nodding to them in greeting. "Maggie, did you tell her yet?" Maggie shook her head, a huge smile on her face.
"Look who came back last night!" Maggie replied, motioning for her to look into one of the stalls.
"Max!" Alex exclaimed, overjoyed at the sight of seeing one of her favorite animals. Max was a Griffin, whom Alex had befriended when she had started this year. At seeing her, he poked his head forward out of the stall and lowered it so she could scratch his head. "Aww, Max, I missed you." He squeaked at her a little, and her smile got bigger. She turned to Maggie and threw her arms around her girlfriend and kissed her not even carIng that she was in front of a teacher. "Thank you." She whispered against Maggie's lips, and she could feel that Maggie was smiling.
"It gets better, babe." Maggie said, pulling away. They both turned to watch as M'gann went into the stall and put on a saddle made specifically for Giffins, and a bridle and then led him out of the stall.
"I got you and Maggie permission from Headmaster J'onzz to give Max his exercise. I've known that you've ridden him before, without the saddle, but this time it should help keep you safely on his back. No crazy tricks ,hold on tight and stay within school grounds." M'gann insisted.
"I won't." Alex promised, and with a happy dance of glee, Alex jumped up onto his back, and held out her hand to help Maggie climb on behind her.
"Hold on tight, babe!" Alex said, before she gently kicked Max's sides and he took off running before spreading his wings and taking off. They flew higher and higher circling this way and that, until they soared above the Castle, over the forest, before turning back and flying over the lake. They flew for hours until Alex could sense that Max was getting tired and she gently guided him back down.
M'gann was waiting for them, and she smiled at the obvious delight in what she considered to herself to be her favorite students.
"That was amazing." Maggie said, wrapping an arm around Max's head and giving him a kiss on the beak. He squawked affectionately at her.
"I've been flying with Kara before, but that was way different. I could feel his rhythm and when I was directing him it was almost like I could understand him. And it was wonderful to share that experience with you, Maggie." Alex said, grabbing her hand.
"It can take a person years to develop a bond like that with a griffin, and yet you've done it already. You've got a gift, Alex Danvers. I can see you being a magizoologist , and being a great Griffin racer." M'gann said. Alex beamed under the praise and for the first time in a long time, she felt like what her mother had said or had blamed her for didn't matter, that she finally had a purpose and a plan that was all her own. And with Maggie by her side, she felt like she could do anything.
Author's note:
So it's been a while since I've watched/read Harry Potter, so I've taken a few liberties. I also just really wanted Alex and Maggie to ride on a Griffin! Thank you everyone who left a comment, you are greatly appreciated. I don't own these characters, but all of the mistakes are mine. This was probably the story that I've had the most fun working on so far. So let me know what you think.. and as always thank you for reading. See you all tomorrow for Domestic Sanvers!