Magnolia's POV:
I laid in bed the afternoon of my birthday, reading the newest copy of Witches Weekly, a sugar quill hung from between my lips. I was alone most of the day, Juniper had gone with Demi down to the library, and I wasn't entirely sure where Roxy had gone but the bag that had been at the end of her bed was gone when I woke up, so I assumed she'd gone out for something.
It was sort of nice having a moment alone, I'd spent so much of my summer surrounded by other people which had been sort of odd for me. I liked the alone time, it gave me quiet and time to think. There was a knock at the door in a rhythmic tone. I opened the door to see Hannah on the other side.
"I was told by the red-headed Gryffindor twins, that this was for you," she said, showing off a folded piece of parchment.
It was clear that it was Fred and George. I accepted the note thanking Hannah. She gave me a quick wave before she slipped back to the common room.
Mags,
I think we have gone long enough without homemade sweets. Meet us in the kitchens tonight for another birthday surprise.
The better twin.
I rolled my eyes looking down at the penmanship on the parchment. I could tell by the way the "O"s had been looped over a few times, it was Fred who wrote the note. George usually looped the ends of his letters as he wrote and kept his handwriting much cleaner. While Fred would circle back over the curves of the "O"s a couple of times for whatever reason he had, and generally messier than George.
Juniper returned not long before supper was to start, Demi following along with her as she plopped on the empty bed beside mine.
"How are the little trolls?" Demi asked, looking over at the note.
"They've been good, I suppose." I shrugged,
She sat up leaning closer, "One of them was chatting up, Camellia or Cami, something, I think was her name, right outside the library. She's that Gryffindor girl with really pretty, brown hair, super cute to be honest." Demi informed me. I could picture her easily, I'd seen her tag along with Angelina and some other girls from Gryffindor in passing from time to time, she was similarly built like Roxy, thinner and taller than me, it made sense why they'd be talking to her; she was cute. I tried to ignore the thumping of my heart I felt in my tummy.
"It was Fred." Juniper confirmed, "Guess we can cross him off as your potential husband. Didn't know he even knew other girls existed." She laughed.
My stomach flipped but I couldn't imagine why, "She's in his house of course he was chatting with her, I chat with Ernie and Liam all the time." I defended quickly.
"Maybe that's true, but I've seen Liam and Ernie talk to you and it's definitely not like this." Demi shook her head, "There was obvious flirtation from both parties, good for him though, maybe he'll quit bugging you all the time now." She added nonchalantly.
My gut felt twisted up. I knew both of the boys had other friends. They were quite popular, even with the pranks they pulled, people still liked them. Both of them had a way of making people laugh even at the most inappropriate times. Of course, they'd come around to have girlfriends as well, I was just a girl that was also their friend. So why did my skin feel prickly and my chest felt tight almost?
"It's not like it really matters all that much." I shrugged, forcing myself to read my magazine again. I could feel my fingers begin tapping against the side of the magazine nervously.
"Have you guys seen Roxy?" I questioned, quickly changing the subject. I played with my fingers distracting myself.
"Seen her with Cedric on the Quidditch pitch," Demi responded, helping herself to the stack of magazines I had beside my bed.
"Why'd she be there with him?" Juniper curled up her nose at the mention of Cedric.
"Perhaps because he's on the quidditch team and she wants to play on the team this year." I quipped, "There's not a chance she'd just be hanging out with him, no way she'd be able to listen to him go on and on about the game that long." I shook my head.
Juniper went on about how it was the only thing she had ever heard him talk about, which encouraged Demi to spill a rant of her own about the last Hufflepuff Seeker before Cedric.
Looking back on all the times I studied or chatted with Cedric he always found a way to tie in the game or make it about himself. Although I hadn't really liked talking about myself it sometimes felt like I knew so much about him, and he knew nearly nothing about me.
It was as though her ears were burning when a hunched and sweaty Roxy tiptoed into the dorm. She froze in the doorway when she realized she wasn't alone. Demi and Juniper's conversation fell silent.
Her bag hit the ground with a thud echoing on the walls, "How's everyone's Sunday been?" She asked casually, "Happy Birthday Mags, you were still sleeping when I woke up."
"Where'd you run off to?" Juniper asked before I could get a word in.
"Just doing some drills with the team from last year, tryouts are pretty soon." Roxy shrugged. "Thought it might be good for me."
"The team or with Cedric?" Demi asked with a smirk, "I knew Squeaks fell for his charm but I thought with that Ravenclaw family of yours, you'd know better."
I shove Demi forcefully, "I had my first kiss with him, I didn't marry him or sell my soul away." I scoffed, but Roxy hadn't said anything yet, "Who was there though?" I turned back to her awaiting her answer.
"Ernie and Liam were there this morning but it's been mostly just Cedric," Roxy admitted plopping on her bed, she looked defeated.
"I was going to tell you sooner but I wasn't sure how'd you feel." She explained frantically.
I didn't even date Cedric, the boy was my first kiss, and I worked over the summer to come to terms that all he was meant to be to me was just that my first kiss. My first real crush and my first kiss, nothing more. I still cared for him but I stopped getting all the flutters about him after I met James. It was like all my eggs moved to a different basket.
"Seriously?" I asked, "I don't mind at all, I encourage you to pick his brain, he's got enough knowledge about it he could write a series of novels on the damn sport."
Roxy let out a relieved sigh, "Thank Godric, I was so worried you'd be upset about it."
"Is that why you bailed on her birthday?" Juniper interrupted again.
"Partially, I got hit in the head the night before and I was avoiding the nurse because Cedric didn't get permission to use the pitch, I didn't want to get in more trouble. I'm completely fine now, just a few sore muscles." Roxy nodded, "Sorry about your birthday, I can make it up to you if you want me to." She turned to me, giving me a weak smile.
"It's okay, you probably dodged a bullet with that one." I sighed, glancing at the empty Chocolate Frog boxes strewn at the end of my bed.
"Can you not use so many Muggle expressions all the time?" Juniper groaned, rolling her eyes, "What is that even supposed to mean?"
"It's when you've just barely missed trouble or danger. Isaac taught me that one." Demi grinned to herself. Isaac was the Muggle boy Demi had met on their holiday to the States.
Demi had said he had the abs of a Greek god and the most perfect blonde hair and golden skin. To be honest I couldn't picture a single human alive on Earth that could match a description like that.
"Ugh, I've heard enough about bloody Isaac," Juniper muttered, annoyed. "First the entire summer and now I'm stuck listening to you here too?"
"You're just upset because you haven't grown into any of your pretty features yet and boys still find you utterly annoying," Demi argued with a cocky smirk.
Roxy and I knew what was to happen next when Juniper jumped across her bed to Demi's. They usually fought after Demi said something rude, the way most sisters do, and it always started with Juniper swinging first. We learned it was best to let the two get it out their own way, Juniper never landed any of her punches, as Demi had known where she was aiming every time. The fight was always the same, Juniper would start it but it never took long for her to give up when Demi caught her hands every time she swung.
Demi held onto Juniper's wrists as she weakly tried to break away to swing again. She gave up dropping her hands to her lap, defeated yet again by her older sister with a huff.
"You're going to miss me next year, be grateful I'm still here now." Demi stuck out her tongue, teasing Juniper.
"Yeah right." Juniper rolled her eyes, moving back to her bed. "Don't you have your own dorm to go bother someone in?"
"I haven't decided yet, your room looks quite good for now, Juney Poo ." Demi teased.
••••••
Magnolia squeezed in between Juniper and Roxy at the Hufflepuff table facing herself towards the Gryffindor table. Magnolia was surprised to see Cami sat beside Hermione, and was across from Fred. She noticed the other girl laugh loudly at something he had said. Magnolia began blindly filling up her plate, unable to take her eyes away from the other table.
"Are you good, Squeaks?" Demi questioned waving her hand in front of Magnolia's line of sight.
Cutting her focus she looked back at the older girl, "Just fine, a little tired that's all." She shrugged, placing her plate back down.
Magnolia took a look at her plate and it was filled with things she usually didn't eat but it was too late now. She picked up her fork, pushing around the peas that added color to her plate. Her eyes drifted back to see Fred looking over, he smiled with a quick wink before he went back to his conversation with George. Whatever icky feeling growing in her stomach faded, hunger replacing it as she looked back down.
Roxy noticed Magnolia's hesitation to pick her fork up again, before glancing at her plate, "Want me to swap you?" Roxy offered, showing off her untouched plate that looked far more appetizing.
Magnolia glanced between her choices, "Are you sure?" Roxy nodded, swapping the plates around.
She dug in, Roxy following along digging into her own plate. Once dinner had settled in their bellies, Juniper split off to bed, Roxy out with the quidditch players for team bonding before tryouts, and Magnolia quickly joined Fred and George in the kitchens. They had aprons tied around their waists prepared to bake for her this time.
"Since you're always baking for us, we thought we could try." Fred had shrugged, "The house-elves can help if things start to go wrong, so all you have to do is just sit pretty and wait."
Magnolia felt her heart fill up as she watched them from the countertops. Fred and George had flour-covered aprons long before anything managed to make it in the oven, or even the mixing bowls for that matter. Their cheeks were dusted with powder, while Winky and the help of another elf, got them back on track. Much to her surprise the snickerdoodles they whipped up were completely edible and tasted just as good as Molly's.
"Well done boys, I'm impressed." She smiled as she left for bed that night, she snuck back a few cookies to snack on later on.
It ended her birthday perfectly. Her belly was full of sweets, warm snickerdoodles, and a good meal. Her heart feelings fuller at the same time, making her completely forget about the Fred and Cami thing that had started eating away at her earlier. Magnolia wrapped her arms around both of them pulling them into a tight hug before she went off to her dorm.
••••••
Magnolia's POV:
The entire week of quidditch tryouts Roxy was on edge, although she had been sneaking in practice as often as she could, she still worried about making the team. Juniper and I sat in the library finishing up essays for Charms when Roxy burst in an excited flurry. I'd never seen her seem so awake, to be honest. Roxy was driven but it wasn't ever something she boasted about.
"I did it! I've made the team!" Roxy cheered, clapping her hands excitedly.
"Shh!" A few people shushed from other areas of the library.
"Sorry." She whispered, sitting beside June and me.
"Does this mean we've gotta start going to more quidditch matches?" Juniper groaned.
"At least all of the Hufflepuff games." Roxy grinned.
Juniper rolled her eyes, closing her book, "Great another thing to add to my plate." Roxy and I watched her leave the library in a tizzy.
"I'm sure she'll be fine. I'm happy for you Rox." I reassured her.
Roxy nodded, "I have to get my shit-talking together before my first match against Fred and George." She grinned, not letting Juniper's mood change bother her.
"I guess it'd be a good idea. Try to steer away from jabs about being ginger, it doesn't bother them all that much." I suggested, she nodded and pretended to take notes.
Roxy and I went over her best strategies to get under their skin. She wanted to prove herself to be more than most people had seen her. After I found out about her secret extra practices, I began to really notice how much effort she was putting in. She beamed at the letter her mum had sent after she told about her making the team. It was the first time her mum had shown direct support of her efforts.
Autumn was quickly flourishing as The October Days fell away. Roxy had Juniper behind her pulling her hair back for her, keeping it neat and clean before her first quidditch match. Demi stood behind me curling my hair around the tip of her wand, brushing her fingers through loosening them after she was done with each section.
"June says you've got a boy you've been snogging at home," Demi says out of nowhere.
"I haven't even kissed him yet. Held his hand at best, no more than I've done with Fred." I snorted.
"You've held hands with Fred?" Roxy questioned eagerly.
"One time. It was dark and I was scared." I explained.
"Who's this other boy?" Demi interrupted pulling the conversation back her way. "I know enough about Fred." She scoffed.
"He's the brother of my friend from the bookstore." I replied, "James is his name." His smile flashed across my memory, making my cheeks feel warm.
"Oh James?" Demi leaned in front of me, wearing a smirk, "Oh! I knew he made you blush when you said his name!" She teased, slapping my shoulder playfully picking up the next strand of hair.
I swatted her away, "Hush, he's just a friend of mine." I fought the smile creeping its way up my lips. "Like I said we haven't even kissed or anything."
"You've got it worse than last time!" Juniper groaned, joining Roxy in laughter.
These three always loved teasing me to no avail. I still hadn't totally learned to control the blush that always crept its way to the surface. Demi pressed a wet kiss to my cheek before going back to my hair.
"We love you, Maggie, that's why we do this," Demi reassured me, I could hear the grin in her voice.
I wasn't ready to admit it, but I knew that we'd feel like we were missing another piece to the puzzle once Demi was gone. Demi had grown to be like an older sister to me, she had gone out of her way countless times to give Roxy and me advice. I wasn't going to say anything for Juniper's benefit, knowing Demi would likely go back to the States after Hogwarts.
"Okay, nearly done and then you three can scurry off," Demi announced as she wrapped the last of my hair.
She came around to the front, checking it out before she moved behind me again. She was always so quick, it kind of made sense why was the goalkeeper for the Hufflepuff Quidditch team. Demi twisted the two front sections of my hair pulling it from my face, she quickly tied a pale yellow ribbon around the end securing it.
"Ta-Da!" Demi cheered. "Now you're ready for your first quidditch match of the term. Enjoy ladies." She clapped us all on the back before pushing us from our own dorm.
Roxy turned around, "Aren't you supposed to be going out there too?" She asked Demi, adjusting her quidditch sweater.
Demi shook her head, "I've got an assignment to finish for Flitwick's class. I want to say Liam is playing for me today." She looked disappointed. She always seemed to look so happy out on the pitch.
Roxy nodded her head understanding, "You've gotta promise me we'll play more than just one or two games together." She added.
Demi smirked and nodded her head, "You've got yourself a deal, Westbrook. I expect you to hold me to it."
Roxy gave a thumbs up, before waving her goodbye. Demi liked hiding out in our room for some reason. At first, she had claimed it was her dorm mate's snoring but Juniper and Demi snored louder than anyone I'd ever met before and Roxy sometimes had entire incoherent monologues in her sleep. When she came to our room it typically came with unwarranted advice from her big sister's standpoint. I think she secretly liked the feeling of being home with Juniper being nearby.
••••••
"Who knew she could be so quick out there?" George laughed as he and Fred joined Juniper and me on the quidditch pitch at the end of the match.
Ravenclaw beat us out at the last minute, as Cho Chang slipped under Roxy's reach. Cho managed to throw the quaffle past Liam, who was busy getting distracted by Cedric zipping past in an attempt at catching the Golden Snitch.
"I'm full of surprises." Roxy grinned while jogging over to meet us.
Juniper clamped Roxy in a tight hug, "It's okay you didn't win, you still gave 'em hell." She cheered.
"You'll have to tell me how you, uh, got so good." George blushed. Roxy gave him a weak smile before turning back to Juniper.
Fred snorted, patting George on the back sympathetically, "You're so well-spoken, Georgie." He teased his brother.
George shoved him off, wiping away the blush on his cheeks. "Shut up, Fred." He pouted.
"She is your competition so is it really best to be all obsessed with her?" I smirked.
"You can shut up, too." George quipped back with a glare.
I bit back a laugh unsure what he might do if I let it sleep out. Fred wrapped a loose arm around my shoulder.
"He'll be over this soon I'm sure." He suggested as George went off to attempt chatting with Roxy again.
"It's kind of entertaining watching him try though." As Roxy dryly laughed and nodded her head, I chuckled, glancing off as George fumbled out awkward banter.
"Hey, good match Roxy." Cho complimented as she passed behind my blonde-haired friend.
"Thanks, you did really great out there too. Maybe we can talk game or something." Roxy smiled.
Cho returned her smile, nodding happily, "I'd love that."
Roxy's eyes drifted off as Cho walked past her, her cheeks tinged pink. It was like she couldn't take her eyes away. Fred's hand nudged at my shoulder, breaking my focus.
"You are always staring off at something." Fred teased me.
"A lot is going on, can you blame me?" I sunk out from under his arm. I turned away from the celebrating crowd as the field was emptying, glancing back at Fred.
"Not like I've never caught you doing the same thing," I added, reaching up to pinch at his cheeks like he did when he teased me.
He caught my wrist in his hand, "Don't pinch my cheeks." He warned.
I arched my brow, "Or what?" I challenged Fred with a smirk, twisting my hand away. I reached forward attempting to pinch him again.
"I might make you wish you hadn't." He replied casually.
"Oooh. I'm so scared," I clutched my chest dramatically, I smirked as I dropped my hand. , "I'm not scared of you, Fred." I laughed.
"George! Grab her feet!" He called out behind me.
Fred lunged forward grabbing my wrists. Soon George crept behind me and grabbed my ankles. I tried kicking my legs but George was already ahead of me. They were both bigger than me so there was little use in fighting it. I was like a boar on a steak above a bonfire. The two taller boys held me above the ground, I stared helplessly at the cloudy sky above me. They were strong from playing as beaters and my struggle was proof.
"Is anyone going to help me?" I called out, trying to find Juniper or Roxy.
"Sorry Mags," Juniper shrugged, "You kind of asked for it, besides it's about time they got you too."
I tried looking down at George, "George, I didn't even touch you," I pleaded.
He ignored me, looking past me to his brother, "What now?" He asked Fred.
"I think that big patch of mud on the far side is still pretty wet from yesterday's storm." Fred chuckled.
They carried me across the field, there weren't many people left on the pitch at this point. Roxy and Juniper stood huddled together watching as I was carried against my will. Useless bystanders in my sacrifice.
"You two are going to regret this. I'm capable of getting you back!" I attempted to warn.
The twins laughed, the mud patch they had their eyes on was the same patch everyone seemed to fall victim to. I'd seen many people slip into and stain anything of the pastel to the white color range. This was going to end badly, I looked up to Fred in a last attempt to plead for an out. They'd never understand not getting my hair in the mud, I felt guilty knowing Demi had put so much time into curling it despite my hair's resistance to holding curls at first. She offered the night before, woke up early to do it all for these two to ruin in a matter of minutes.
"Can I ask for a rain check?" I pleaded, "You can dunk me in the mud any other day, couldn't it wait until further in the season?"
"You could just promise not to pinch my cheeks like I'm some little kid." Fred gave me an upside-down smirk, as I looked up at him. "And take me seriously."
My hair was mere inches from the wet mud that'd be caked in my hair for days if I went in.
"I promise." I squealed as I slid closer to the wet mud under me.
I tried arching my back away as I felt their hands slide up, bringing me closer to the ground, "Fred, I promise I won't pinch your cheeks again." I pleaded louder.
I squeezed my eyes shut, I didn't feel like I'd been brought back up. "And I'll take you seriously!" I whimpered nervously.
There was a long, still standing moment. I'd made my plea too late. Mentally, I was already preparing for a shower. I felt my feet hit the solid ground first, I opened my eyes, they'd been spared of the mud. I let out a relieved sigh.
Fred stood above me wearing a smug grin. I roughly pulled my hands away, he finally lost his grip freeing my hands.
I wipe my sweaty palms on the top of my jeans, "Don't do that again. It's not fair for you to fight like that because you two have almost got a foot more in height than me." I pouted, pushing past Fred.
"Oh no!" He gave a shocked look, "Maybe you can find a potion that could help with that." George suggested teasingly.
I glanced to see George was turned away from the thick patch of mud. He was wearing such a smug grin on his face, it was taunting as he laughed at himself. I got an idea.
"I wonder if they make potions to help with your situation too, Georgie." I retorted.
"And what situation would I have?" He replied with a dry laugh.
I placed my hand on George's chest, leaning just a little bit closer, "Being a dickhead." I smirked.
He fumbled with his words, my hand trailed up to his shoulder, "And covered in mud." I mumbled before I shoved him as hard as I could into the mud.
George now sat in the thick brown mud, glared up at me in disgust, his brows furrowed as he looked over to Fred for backup. Fred's gaze shifted from George's to mine. He grinned widely, that was my cue to run. I took off as fast as my feet could carry me, running a lap around Roxy and Juniper now joined by Lee, towards the center of the pitch. Fred was right on my heel trying to avenge George. I sprinted around Lee, cutting past Roxy, and slipping under Juniper's arm as I weaved my way around them.
Fred weaved around following close behind me. My foot slid against the damp grass, I felt cold mud smash against my back. I laid on the cold wet ground staring up at the stormy clouds above me once again. Roxy and Juniper stood above me, they both bit back clear grins, as they looked back down at me.
"There's a reason why girls don't usually play with boys." Juniper shook her head in disappointment, Roxy reached her hand out to help me up.
Once I got back on my feet, my back was cold and stiff from the mud, "I'm going to need help getting this out of my hair." I grumbled to Roxy.
She stiffly patted my shoulder avoiding the muddy parts, "I'll see if I can get Mum to send my shampoo a bit sooner this time since we'll probably need to go at this a few times." Roxy inspected my mud-soaked hair.
Fred panted tiredly, his chest heaving roughly from chasing me, "I think it's a good look for you," He chuckled,
I glared at him with a pointed look although I knew my predicament was all my own doing. Fred smirked, reaching his hand out to my cheek, much like I'd done before I wound up in the mud.
Quickly swatting his hand away, "Not fair!" I shouted.
"I'm only making things fair at this point," He shrugged with a chuckle, "George got mud, so you got mud. I still haven't got my revenge for you pinching my cheeks. I'm a man now, almost 15. You can't treat me like a baby forever." He added puffing his chest to make him look broader.
I pushed past Fred, "You've had plenty of enough revenge. Prank me then if you're so desperate." I challenged with a giggle, "And I hate to crush your dreams but 15 doesn't make you a man, Fred." I teased with a smirk.
He scoffed, staring back offended, "Whatever, Muddy."
I chuckled at his poor insult, "I'm glad you were so quick with that one." Roxy and Juniper began walking towards the girl's changing tent.
"Come on Mud-Maggie." Juniper stuttered tugging at my arm, wearing a grin.
"Shut up." I quipped, turning to join her.
"I'd start sleeping with one eye open, you've made the list now," Fred called out behind us as we got farther away.
"I'll be sure to get right on that."
I shook my head, biting back a grin. There was something a little exciting about not knowing what might be lurking around the corner for me. Excitement and a slight taste of anxiety swirled in my stomach, I'd completely forgotten the mud stuck to my back.
It felt like good times were coming, a slow roll in the air but I was ready. The sun peeked her head through the clouds, opening up from the storm. The storm was far from gone but it was a nice break in the cold, to feel the warmth from the sun warm my skin against the chilling autumn air one more time. It was time to let the good times roll.
A/N: Poor Muddy Maggie :( Chapter 24 will be out very soon! Do you think she can keep up with the twins? Hope everyone has been enjoying the story! Thank you so much for the love so far 3