"Miss Ride I presume?"
The high pitched voice, it stung Max's ears, adding to the pain she already felt. She grimaced at the atrocity before her. For the plumb, pink woman before would have given Nudge nightmares for weeks. She wore a pink brittle cardigan, a pink skirt, a pink blouse and- just like the cream on the cake- a small pink bow. It was a complete set; Max wondered if there was a black version. A smile had spread across the creatures face, reminding Max of a toad- a rather pink one
"No it's your Uncle Jim." Max replied, dryly.
"Sarcasm will not help you." The woman said her voice seeming to gain pitch as she reach the end.
"Here's hoping," Max said, praying to any God who would listen to strike her down where she stood so that she wouldn't have to deal with this woman.
"Come with me." She said, before trotting away.
"Come with you?" Max said scoffing. "What are you a teacher?"
The way she turned and her eyes fell upon Max left her feeling like that wasn't the smartest move she could make.
"It is Professor Umbridge to you, Miss Ride." Now her voice was gaining pitch at odd moments in her speech.
Max felt a bell ring off in her head at the mention of that name. "Oh! You're the one that made that crappy speech at the feast."
The eyes narrowed, and Max found that eggs shells had suddenly appeared below her feet. Umbridge waddled away, Max getting the clue to follow obediently behind.
The walk through the long wide corridors of Hogwarts was long and painful, and Max found herself gritting her teeth with each step. Her attention was solely focused on battling the pain and it wasn't until they came to complete stop that Max realised this wasn't the Hospital wing.
"I thought the Hospital Wing was up in a tower or something?" Max asked, as Umbridge opened the door revealing a classroom.
Umbridge laughed.
It was high pitch girly giggle that emitted from her mouth, a very fake one at that. It left Max cringing once again at this woman's ugly smile and glinting eyes that could only mean trouble.
"You are here to serve detention, Miss Ride." Umbridge said, gleaming, walking into the classroom and led Max pass the many tables and chairs to the back, where a staircase was.
"What?" Max's voice was of disbelief as she stared at this woman.
"Detention, Miss Ride." Umbridge pronounced much like one does to two year old. "It seems you are under the impression that skipping class is merely part of the school curriculum? Obviously your last school was too lenient. I can promise you that Hogwarts will not tolerate such disobedience."
It was with that they walked up the staircase into a pink atrocity.
The walls were violently pink- everything was violently pink. The chairs, that table, everything looked like it had been spray-painted pink. Then there was the row of rows of kittens on china plates on the walls. They all meowed and hissed, pacing on their plate surfaces and Max did not like the way they eyed her rather hungrily.
"Have a seat." Umbridge said, sweetly, her smile far too wide for her face, already sitting in her own seat. Max sat down in one the two chairs opposite, trying very hard not to make any snarky comments.
Umbridge looked down at the small, fluffy, pink clock, next to a photo of a rather plumb man in a bowler hat (who coincidently looked like he was trying to perform a very bad model photo). "Only a few more minutes and we will begin."
Max raised an eyebrow, but decided to sit quietly.
The few minutes past quickly and a knock echoed in the small room.
"Come in," Umbridge her voice picking up pitch towards the end. "Good, evening Mr Potter, please take a seat."
Harry walked in and took his seat, quite bewildered by the bright pink before him. His eyebrows disappeared into his fringe when he saw Max seated and his eyes roamed over her, taking in her bruised and battered state.
"Now," Umbridge said, waving her wand where two sheets of parchment appeared before them, she then presented them with two quills. "Tonight you will begin your detention by writing lines."
Simple enough Max thought, and she could tell Harry thought much the same thing.
"Mr Potter you will write I must not tell lies." She spoke with satisfaction and Harry's fist tightened around his quill. "And Miss Ride you will write I shall not skip class. And let's say you write until it sinks in." She gave a smile that would make most kittens run in fear.
Her tone made Max sense there was more to it than that.
"What about ink?" Harry asked, and Max looked at the neat, organised table and saw the one thing missing to make it complete.
"Oh, you won't need any." Umbridge said her smile widening and her eyes gleaming. "Begin."
And under her predatory eyes, the scratching of quills began on the rough parchment and soon followed by small gasps.
Max watched as the red, glistening words that slowly carved into the back of her hand, mirrored the ones she had just etched onto her parchment- I shall not skip class. She looked up into the satisfied eyes of Umbridge.
"Is there a problem?" she asked, in a sickly sweet voice.
"Yeah- and you can stuff-" Max began.
"No problem, Professor." Harry said speaking over Max and meeting Umbridge's gaze head on. "There is no problem at all." He grinded out and Max picked up the hint and closed her mouth.
"Wonderful," Umbridge said. "Now resume."
And they did.
It was two hours later that they exited the classroom and were both informed that they would be both have their next detention the same time tomorrow night.
"I am not going- no way in hell." Max grinded out, feeling the soft itch of the blood red words shinning on the back of her hand. She started walking down the corridors.
"You have to." Harry said.
"No I don't." Max retorted. "Nobody tells me what to do. I do what the hell I want."
"You'll just skip it? Just like you skipped class?" Harry said, sarcastically. "How will that help? You'll just get more."
"She'll have to catch me." Max said, grinning. "And not many people have managed to do that."
"Where were you anyway?" Harry demanded, changing the conversation. "You disappeared all afternoon."
"None of your concern," Max retorted.
"You can't just run away you know." Harry said. "You can't just-"
"I didn't run away!" Max angrily spat. "Nobody has control of me! Nobody not you, not Umbridge, not Dumbledore! I am me and me alone! So don't you dare tell me what I can or can't do!"
By the end of her outburst, she was leaning over Harry, he showing an equally angry face, his hand grasping his wand. The tension in the air could be cut with a knife.
"Potter, Ride! What on Earth are you doing?"
Professor McGonagall appeared rounding the corner, only to find the two students ready to attack the other. She bristled, her eyes narrowing. "Potter, withdraw your wand, and Ride-Ride! What in Merlin's name happened to you?"
Both teenagers backed away from the other, Harry pocketing his wand, while Max had to think back as to why McGonagall would say such a thing. Then she remembers her encounter with the skeletal horse.
"Oh, I fell," Max answered dryly.
"You fell!?"
"Yeah."
"Mr Potter, return to your dormitory, I will escort Miss Ride to the Hospital Wing." McGonagall looked furious.
"Miss Ride, my I ask as to why you fell?" McGonagall said, in a rather restrained voice. They headed in one direction while Harry sulked off in the other.
"Just did." Max answered.
"Professor Umbridge was very vocal about your absence in class today. She will be having a word with you."
"She already did." Max said, resisting the urge to scratch her hand.
"That explains how you and Mr Potter came to be." McGonagall sighed. "I trust you will not be making another performance of this?" Her eyes then narrowed, and Max was sure if she had been someone else she would have been shrinking on the spot.
"No I won't." Max had always been a good liar.
McGonagall nodded. "Professor Snape has reported that you are to report to his office tomorrow evening at ten o'clock for detention." She then paused, and looked Max right in the eye. "Professor Dumbledore also requests your presence at the end of the week. Apparently you missed a few papers when you enrolled."
Max caught onto what she meant. "I'll be there."
It wasn't until they reached the Hospital Wing that they spoke again and even then it was merely pleasantries as McGonagall left leaving her now in the care of the Matron Pomphrey.
Madame Pomphrey was an older lady, wearing white and red reminding Max of one those nurses in those old movies about world war one. She was quite a thin lady, with hair that greyed at the edges and a face that was slightly rounded. Max could see a pretty woman underneath all that age.
Madame Pomphrey took one look at Max and she was immediately ushered to one of the many unoccupied white beds lining the room. Her wand was pulled out of her apron pocket and it was pointed at Max and Pomphrey muttered a spell. Her eyes narrowed as her wand was placed back into her apron pocket.
"Take off your shirt Miss Ride." She said, briskly.
Max found herself freeze in place, her wings automatically tightening themselves against her back, trying to meld together in a desperate attempt not to be seen. "I-uh…" Max was not sure how to deter the Mediwitch.
"I insist Miss Ride." Madame Pomphrey said. "Those ribs will not heal themselves, and there is also the damage I fear you may have inflicted on your spine."
Max's eyes darted around the room looking for the best exit.
Noticing her discomfort, the Matron sighed. "I am well aware of your…added limbs. And you are not the first student to come to this school not completely human."
"I-what!" Max fumed. "He said he would not tell anybody!" Her respect for the Headmaster fell several notches. "Pig-headed-"
"I was informed, Miss Ride." Madame Pomphrey said, cutting Max off with words that had a bit steel to them. "Since, to be able to perform my duties I must know my patients medical history. Or I risk injuring my patient even more." Her eyes narrowed.
"Wait," Max said, rethinking what the Matron had said before. "There have been others?"
"Of course," She said a hint of pride entered her voice. "Hogwarts is one of the few schools that allow most magical folk to learn. The Headmaster is quite insistent on it."
"Am I the only one at the moment?" Max asked.
"At the moment yes, but there was a werewolf a good twenty years ago." She said, thoughtfully. Then she shook her head. "Now, Miss Ride would please remove your shit."
Max opened her eyes, yawned and stretched putting her hands behind her head and lying on the white bed. She gave another yawn turning over and looking to the right-
"Jesus!" she shouted, scrabbling in the covers, her heart pounding loudly in her chest.
Luna Lovegood only cocked her head to the side, where she had been sitting staring for-god-knows-how-long at Max. "Who is that?"
Gaining her dignity back, Max just about replied in a rush of words. "Some religious figure- what the hell are you doing?"
"Sitting," Luna replied, bluntly.
"And what else are you doing apart from sitting?" Max said, impatiently.
"Talking to you, of course!" Luna beamed at this, as if talking to Max was the greatest thing there ever was.
Max wasn't sure that was something to get excited about. Instead she gave a sigh, and changed the conversation. "How long was I asleep anyways?"
"Eight hours." Luna replied.
"That is not at all creepy," Max mumbled underneath her breath. "So it is seven in the morning or something?" she craned her neck to see the rising sun out of one of the glass windows.
"Quarter to seven."
"Yeah- quarter seven- anything to eat here? I'm starved."
Before Luna could answer Madame Pompry walked back into the room, carrying a tray of liquids. "They would be serving in the Great Hall now," she answered, "but before you head off. You need to take these."
She placed several the liquids on the bedside table.
"Uh-" Max said, disgusted. "I thought I had all the medicines yesterday?"
"Now you have to have them again, Miss Ride." Madame Pomphrey said, pouring one into a spoon. "Now open wide."
It was with a grimace that she swallowed the spoonful.
"Now, I trust you won't be making any more reoccurrences?" Madame Pomphrey said her eyebrows lifting as she stared at Max intently.
"Sure, sure," Max said. "I won't do anything stupid. That good enough?"
Madame Pomphrey pursed her lips. "For now yes." She said, grudgingly. "Now you may join your classmates in the Great Hall. You are in perfect health."
With that Max gleefully sprung from the bed and headed towards the door and closed it behind her and then stopped when her sharp hearing picked up a conversation from inside.
"Miss Lovegood, I trust that you are a friend of Miss Ride's?" Madame Pomphrey asked.
She could almost hear Luna thinking as a pause penetrated between them. "What is a friend to you?" Luna asked the Matron.
Max could picture the Matron's startled expression at the question. "Well," she said, "I suppose someone who cares for another."
"Then yes I am Max's friend." Luna said, with absolute certainty.
"Well then," the Matron began, "I ask that you keep an eye on Miss Ride. Some injuries are not just on the surface."
"I understand." Luna said, her voice seeming to lose its dreaminess and become much more stable.
Max slipped away, her footsteps light on the stone floor.
It was with a detour to the Gryffindor common room to freshen into cleaner clothes and a shower that meant she appeared much later and breakfast only held a few stragglers behind.
She saw Luna sitting at the Raven claw table, staring at her unblinkingly. Max wouldn't have been surprised if she had been staring at the Great Hall doors since she sat down herself. Luna stood and made her way towards Max, as Max tried to not meet her eyes as she sat down herself.
Predictably as soon as Max sat down, Luna did too right next to her. Max could only sigh at this loss of isolation.
"Hey Max, Luna,"
It seemed Max had been too occupied with becoming invisible she hadn't notice that she had picked a spot opposite of Ginny Weasley, a plate of food almost finished before hers.
"Hello Ginevra." Luna answered, Max not even bothering in sharing pleasantries. "You are up late this morning."
Ginny grinned. "Yeah, one of my roommate decided to try out a Muggle hairdryer last night. She couldn't turn it off. Thing kept us all up." She spooned mash potato into her mouth. She swallowed. "What about you?"
Luna blinked her eyes wide and drifting to the left of Ginny. "I was waiting for Max to come down for breakfast."
Ginny's eye travelled to Max, settling on them, as Max had started grabbing food onto her plate. There was a pause and Ginny seemed to debate on saying something. "Didn't see you come back to the common room last night." She said, going for it, "You alright?"
Max found herself pausing and looking up at the youngest Weasley in mild shock.
In honestly Max hadn't given hogwash to any of the Weasleys'. Already annoyed with the youngest boys and Harry Potter, she hadn't even spared a glance or a thought for anyone else. Frankly Max wasn't surprised that they were pissed off at her. She hadn't given them any reason to be nice to her either, locked in her room most days, dodging them in corridors. She also, realised she hadn't given them the chance either.
Reason one why she stared at the girl with a mixture of surprise and suspicion. "What's it matter to you?" she said accusingly.
Ginny's eye narrowed, her nostrils flaring in a way that reminded Max of Molly Weasley. "Nothing according to you," Ginny snapped, before she gathered her belonging and left her almost empty plate. "See you at Lunch." She said and strode out the Great Hall.
"What crawled up her butt and died?" Max snorted, starting to inhale the food in front of her.
Luna looked very thoughtful as she formulated her answer. "I would say you." She answered.
"It was rhetorical." Max answered dryly.
Luna just turned wide, quizzical eyes towards her.
Why did she end up with these sorts of people?
The rest of week progressed slowly and painfully for Max. Not only was she dealing with school work, but she had her own constant blonde shadow. Luna Lovegood was going above and beyond to be at Max's side for every hour of every day, watching Max with scrutiny eyes.
She was, in Max's opinion, taking Pomphrey's words too seriously, something that wasn't even worth following anyway.
Max had tried many ways in losing the blonde, like running through the corridors and out running Luna. Which seemed to work initially, but somehow when Max had stopped running and believed she had manage to lose the girl, she would miraculously appear in front of her and comment on how much she loved this game.
Max believed she will be insane by the end of the month.
Her first lesson with Umbridge had proven to be a disaster. Not only was the hag a demon, she was also a moron.
They spent the class glued to their text books rewriting constantly every single dam page of Standard Book of Spells. No wand waving, no incarnations, and Umbridge would spend the class walking along the rows of students, leaning over and peering at their handwriting, or sitting at her desk very smugly.
Max was willing to admit that she preferred Snape over Umbridge. At least Snape actually taught something.
But it turned out it was Transfiguration that would cause her more trouble.
McGonagall had instructed the class they would be carrying on doing vanishing spells, and soon everybody was raising from their seats collecting their snails.
Max however was stopped with McGonagall.
"Miss Ride, follow me please." The stern witch said in a clipped voice, and Max dutifully followed the deputy headmistress outside the classroom. Max looked down trying not to meet the stare of her fellow students.
The door shut behind them and the emptiness of the corridors seemed like a good enough place for an interrogation.
"So what's up?" Max said, cutting to the chase.
"I am deeply disappointed in your conduct yesterday." The older witch began. "Skipping class is not something tolerated at Hogwarts and you should concern yourself lucky that Umbridge found you first. You will be serving you first detention with her tonight for your conduct."
Max found she was confused by that statement. First? But she had one last night? And yet, Harry's words when she was about to stand up to Umbridge struck a chord. Why didn't they know about that detention she had with Harry?
"Fifteen points shall be taken from Gryffindor."
Max gave a shrug. Points were nothing remotely important.
McGonagall narrowed her eyes at her students' lack of response, but carried on talking. "Now that we have that out of the way I wish to ask what caused your injuries from yesterday. Madame Pomphrey tells me you had at least three broken bones and slight concussion."
"I fell." Max responded.
"And where did you fall from, Miss Ride?"
Max did not show any uncomfortableness against that stare. "A tree, I was pretty high up."
"Is there anything else I should know?"
Max found her mind drifting to the day before, remember the feeling of hopefulness that had befallen her as she had flown, and how she let herself fall.
"No that's it."
McGonagall seemed to stare at Max for a few seconds, as if accessing her.
"Alright now what you missed from class yesterday," the older witch continued.
Max listened half-heartedly to McGonagall's words, instead she found herself in another world, where familiar faces smiled and laughed with her.
A world she would give anything to have back.
It was later that evening as she tried to complete another of Snape's lessons that she found herself learning something interesting.
"I see you have once again failed."
Snape's dry voice seemed to just go over Max's head as she stared at the dummy before her. Bother she believed were taunting her; the dummy with its glassed eyes stare and Snape's snide remarks.
"If you hope to even last several seconds in a real duel you have to at least be able to aim correctly."
"I will just punch him then." Max said, her feathers ruffled, "I am very good at that."
"You would not be able to get within a few feet of a wizard. Much like those distasteful muggle guns you would be dead before even making your first step." Snape snapped back. "You must learn to master your wand. Now try again."
With a flick of his wand the dummy came to life. It posed itself its want arm held in from much like a knight would with a sword.
Max held her want tightly in from of her curling her fingers around its hilt. They circled each other the dummy and her, with the watchful black eyes of Snape present.
The dummy striked first sending a stream of red light.
Max merely shifted herself slightly letting the red beam pass beside her harmlessly. She retaliated, "Exeliariums!" she shouted, flicking her wrist and sending a blue light at the dummy. The dummy swirled on its wheels moving to the left and itse wand arm moved preparing to send another spell Max's way-
-only to be hit another blue light and its wand flying out of its wooden hand.
A smug Max looked at Snape.
Snape sneered, "I see you are not a complete buffoon. But simple tricks will not save you from a competent wizard."
"I disagree." Max said. "The simplest are always overlooked. I've met enough wannabe world dominators to know that they never see the small stuff."
Snape didn't say anything, but the twitch of his lips was Max needed.
Banishing the dummy Snape instructed Max to sit down at the chair and desk Max had spent many hours being tested and subjected to Snape's teachings.
Max grinned, leaning back in her chair. "I still can't believe this is the same chair and desk from Grimunald. Some would say you have an attachment."
Her grinned faded when Snape merely conjured another chair and sat down in front of her. He did not produce a book as she expected.
"I know what you are." He said, somehow missing that usual sneer.
Max froze momentarily before she regained her composure raising an eyebrow. "You gonna have to be more specific. This isn't a quiz show."
"You are one of those experiments. More importantly you are a successful one." Snape said. "I have wonder what has happened to the others."
Max looked into the black eyes of this man finding herself not surprised by his sharp tone; nor his words. Yes she was surprised he found out so easily, but not his questions.
Maybe that was why she told him.
"Decommissioned." She said, her emotions being buried underneath a mask she carefully constructed. "I am the only one left."
Snape nodded. "Your brother is being kept with the Dark Lord." he paused his black eyes trained on Max. "He knows."
"And?" There had to be more.
"He has not told his followers," Snape said, quietly. "I do not know why, but he wishes to keep it to himself. I only know because of my...position."
Max paused, her thoughts running wild. "There's something else?"
"He wants you." Snape said, "but the reason is unclear."
"I don't know why." Max said, speaking her words carefully. "But the thing is Dumbledore wanted me."
They both stared into each other's eyes, boring into the other.
"That is the end of today's lesson, you may go Miss Ride."
Max left the classroom with a weight resting on her shoulders she did not like.
Next chapter will be next year. I would give you a month but my track record isn't that good.
Have a lovely morning, evening, afternoon wherever you are.
