Disclaimer:
I do not own Harry Potter or Maximum Ride.
OKAY. I know you probably all want to shave my head and roast me alive for your next cannibal meal.... Uh, ignore that.
But I have GOOD reasons for not updating in... FOREVER!
I have had Internet problems, school's been rough and - as most of us should know - the teachers have been piling up homework, and then there's drama. But don't worry, I'm not stopping any of my stories anytime soon! I promise. BUT -Yes, the dreaded but- It might take longer in between updates. Sorry!
I walked onto the Hogwarts Express. It was toasty warm inside, unlike outside. A strong wind blew from outside. I gathered my flock together, we'd been outside forever waiting for the train. I threw us into the closest compartment, and we sat down, and took off the thick coats that my mom had sent us for the winter.
Angel sat next to me, holding me tight. Total sat huddled on her lap.
"You'd think your mother could at least give me a nice warm coat too, instead of making me stay out in the freezing cold! To soon become a frozen statue to stand in the wind!" Total cried. I looked to him and rolled my eyes.
"You were under Angel's coat the entire time," I put in.
"And we were perfectly fine," Angel added. "Where's your mother going to meet us?"
"Either by the exit, or at the platform. We'll find out, don't worry," I said. I leaned my head against the side of the compartment. I closed my eyes, my hand stroked Angel's hair as she moved to lay down sideways in my lap. I felt Total's small furry head rest against my leg. There was a knock on the door. I turned, and saw Seamus at the door.
"What?" I asked, trying, but failing, to sound the least bit hostile toward him.
"I just thought you should know, your mother is meeting you with mine at the Platform." he said. I nodded, and he closed the door, and left.
Then Iggy stood up, he stood leaned himself against the side wall, making sure he knew where he was. "I'm going to go find Luna," he announced. He started walking toward the door.
"Oh no!" I said, moving Angel gently aside and grasping firmly onto Iggy shoulder. "You're not going anywhere Ig," I said. He shrugged me off, why did he have to be bigger than me? "You're not leaving, you're going to stay here, and wait."
"No, I'm going to find Luna," he objected, and went to the door.
"Iggy. You. Are. Blind. How will you find her on this huge train?" I insisted.
"I don't care, I'm going to find Luna," he shouted, and opened the door. I rushed out after him before he could shut it, and slammed him against the wall. There was a shutter, and some people came to look out at the commotion. I ignored them, and pinned him against it, not letting go.
"You're getting back into the compartment," I growled, to low for the others to hear me. "Iggy, you're blind, for all we know, you could step right into a group of too-good-for-you Slytherins, fall off of the train, anything, you're just staying in there with us, do you understand."
"Yeah, I understand," Iggy whispered. "I understand that you should stop making all of those stupid decisions for us! I want to do this Max, and you can't stop me!" he shouted. He shoved, and squirmed underneath me. Now I know why it took a lot of force to keep us down. Then unexpectedly he slipped out of my grasp and started running.
"Iggy, come back!" I shouted. I rushed forward, and pushed against the crowd. There was a jerky motion as the train started. My feet slipped and I fell forward. As I got back up, I saw Iggy far away from me. He was on his knees, and getting up to start running again. "Ig," I groaned. I really didn't feel like taking chase, but I couldn't let a blind winged-kid run loose over the train. I stood up, and started after him.
Suddenly I saw "stopped" by an arm. They grabbed mine, and though I wasn't ready for them, but I kept running. They held on, and pulled. My arm kept swinging, pushing against it. But there was more weight gaining by the second. I didn't really care, I was to focused on chasing Iggy.
"Max, stop!" a scream came. I spun around, Angel and Nudge were clinging onto my arm. Total was bounding up to them. The others on the train started to giggle as they saw his little black body hopping over. "Let Iggy go." Angel demanded.
"No, Angel. He's a danger to himself, and everyone, right now. So, if you don't mind," I pulled my hand free, and started sprinting. I knew they might follow me, but I didn't care. By this time, Iggy was already in the next section of the train. I tore through it, I had to find Iggy. I couldn't let him get away. As I pulled into the next room, I found him pulling himself away from a group of Slytherins. I lunged at them, tackling the big one.
I punched him in the face, I felt his jaw crack beneath my fist. I grabbed the ugliest one, the blonde kid who still had Iggy. Then I remembered him. The kid.
This was the kid who had tormented Nudge. This was the kid who had bumped into me at the train station, the one who had called me mudblood. The one who I had kicked in the back of the leg. What was his name? I knew his other friends were... Crabby and Gargoyle, or something like that. The other was... Mafia? No, not that. Maybe, Malver? I don't know. He turned to me, and before he could say anything, I said, "Remember me? How about letting him go, and I won't hurt you horribly." He just looked at me, and released Iggy. I punched him in the gut. He groaned, and I grasped Iggy by the arm.
"Now, where are we going to go?" I asked him, my voice a low growl.
"Back to the compartment," he whispered.
"Good," I smiled, and dragged him back. I threw him into Gazzy, who gasped at the sudden weight. "Make sure he doesn't get out of your sight," I ordered. Fang nodded, and leaned his head gently to the side, and closed his eyes. Gazzy whispered something into Iggy's ear that made him smirk. That's never good. Angel and Nudge were giving me the: Why didn't you let him go on his own like we told you, look.
"Max?" Angel's small voice appeared, I looked over to her, and gave her a smile. "Why did you still go after Iggy?"
"Angel, you know why. We couldn't let him go, besides, how would he have found Luna?" I asked.
"I don't know," Angel whispered. She sighed. "I guess you were right for making him stay back. I smiled, and rubbed my hand over her head.
"I still think you should have let him run," Nudge grumbled. I ignored her, why was she always so moody lately?
"Come on everyone, let's just rest, we have a long wait ahead of us," I said.
"But I'm not tired," Nudge complained.
"Okay then, stay up and watch Iggy," I suggested.
"I don't want to watch the blind kid, you do that," Nudge frowned.
"Blind kid?" Iggy growled. "Since when have you started calling me that, first year?"
"Since now, Ravenclaw." Nudge growled, standing up. Iggy followed her movement.
"Hufflepuff!" he screamed. "That's it, I'm out of here, I'm not staying with that ungrateful first year Hufflepuff, and those two know-it-all fourth year Gryffindors!" he shouted.
"No!" I screamed, and wrapped my arms around him. "Don't you even think of that, now, both of you! Sit!" I ordered. I tossed Iggy into the boy side of the compartment. Nudge didn't obey me, she continued to stand, an enraged look upon her face. "Nudge?" I said.
Slowly she sat down next to Angel and Total.
"Now, first off, what is with you Nudge?" I asked. "You're always so moody lately. And you don't tell us what is happening with you. Why don't you finally tell us what's going on?"
She looked at me, her face softened for one moment in confusion, and then it grew dark again. "Alright, what's happening is, that I don't know if I want to be in the flock anymore." she admitted. She glared at me, her eyes dark with raw emotions. "I'm actually considering quitting Hogwarts, and going to live with my new friends. At Beauxbatons. Madame Maxine said that I would be a wonderful addition to her school," she said. "And I want to go Max, I don't want to continue on like this. Do you know what's going on in my head right now, it's like I'm having a battle with my mind, and I can't decide who will go home winning!"
What she told me made me stop. The whole compartment went quiet, all we could here was talking from the other compartments, the train moving along the tracks, shaking everything. And then it exploded with confusion and anger.
"What!" Gazzy shouted. "No way can you leave!"
"What do you mean, you can't leave us!" Iggy said.
Fang looked at her, glaring. He went over to her, whispered something in her ear, and then went to sit back down.
"Don't leave us Nudge," Angel cried. Her little eyes looking as if they would burt with tears. I pulled her against me.
"No!" Total barked.
I looked at her and said. "No, we've split the flock up once, and remember where that got us?" I asked. "We're not doing that again Nudge. Never."
This seemed to stop Nudge. She went silent, and looked at all of us. Then she whispered, in a voice almost to low for our ears to here, "I'm not taking orders from you anymore Max," she frowned. "From now on, I'm going to find my own friends, starting now." She jumped, before we could catch her, and ran out of the compartment.
I wanted to give chase, catch Nudge and stop her. Slap her upside the head, and she'd forget all about that. But I couldn't will my legs to move. All I could say was, "Nudge."
