When Max woke up that morning. She felt more refreshed than she had since leaving Hogwarts the previous month, none of her muscles ached for once, and she had no cramps, no headaches nothing. She felt like herself.
At the window sat a small barn owl who was half asleep, the letter tucked Into its class as it dozed. Max chuckled and opened the window and gently stroked the head of the owl to wake it up. The Owl seemed surprised by the gesture and brushed its peak against her hand slightly in a sign of affection before lifting its claw. Max already knew what the letter was, it was the same letter she had gotten for the past 2 years straight on this very day, Her Hogwarts letter which arrived on the 31st of July -Her birthday.
Quickly unsealing the letter she wrote her reply to return to Hogwarts and tucked it in the owl's carrying case "Can you take this to Professor McGonagall for me please?" The owl hooted in confirmation, and with a final twist of the small capsule the letter was contained in the owl set off on it'd journey back to the Highlands.
She would read the letter after her jog, making her way downstairs, she quickly noticed that she was the only one awake. Neither parents nor siblings were awake and the elves hadn't arrived to work yet which was fair they didn't start till 8 but it was always strange being awake before they arrived.
Sliding the door open, Max grinned as a small warm breeze hit her, It was going to be a nice day at the very least. Standing up straight, she stretched her back out before twisting her stomach to loosen up her torso and spine. Then it was her arms and legs turn which she did by bending down and touching her toes with bending her knees or elbows.
It took about 10 minutes but by the time she was done, she was as loose as a fiddle, her still scrawny frame was in perfect condition for a run. Taking off at a pleasurable pace she jogged to the loch just outside the Manor's grounds. The Crannock in the distance showing the shared history of no-Majs and witches. With a small wave at the loch patrol no-maj's she turned back around and jogged back to the manor.
As she got closer she noticed a small dim light on in the east wing. Someone else in the family was awake at the very least. Probably her mum. She couldn't see the rest waking up this early. Entering the Manor. Her nose was immediately met by the smell of bacon and eggs and all other manner of breakfast foods. Whippy was cooking up a storm this morning. Walking up the stairs she looked at the non-moving pictures his mum had put over the summer, None featured her, they were all taken while Max was at Hogwarts or away learning under Master Aqua but to see the reminded every day hurt her, even if she didn't want to admit it.
Reaching her room she grabbed some clothes and had a quick shower and pulled on a fresh pair of clothes. Looking into her mirror she smiled as she saw her ripped jeans, Chloe had been right she definitely pulled them off better than she had. The purple T-shirt she had pulled on featured a scene from that science fiction movie Tracey had shown her over Christmas…what was it…the wrath of Kahn?
Grabbing a black hoodie she pulled it over her shoulder and sighed in comfort, these hoodies she had gotten were so comfortable, the best suggestion she had ever gotten from Dan. Twisting her head side to side he noticed how long and messy her hair was getting, and not in a good way; her hair was starting to look like her brothers. Reaching for the pair of scissors on her desk she slowly clipped her hair until it went from being down beneath her shoulder blades to resting in a bob that went to the bottom of her neck. Much more her style.
Next, she pulled on the watch that her Uncle Sirius had gotten her for Christmas last year, within The watch showed a full moon with a Wolf and a Dog howling at it, her two uncles always with her. There was definitely something magical about it but she couldn't tell what. Next, she pulled on the friendship bracelet that Dan, Cass and she had made before they went back to Hogwarts last year. No matter where she was the ones she loved the most would always be with her.
Done getting ready for the day she grabbed the letter for school supplies and went back to the Private Libary as she did every morning after her run and shower. The room was undisturbed like she had left it the previous morning, the only difference being this time none of the portraits were in the library. Max wasn't too surprised, they all had multiple different portraits to live in but having them all be gone was weird.
Sitting at the desk she flipped the letter open, She had gotten all the classes she had asked for and had to get two books for them each. She hoped she would enjoy runes but it did sound complicated from what Master Aqua had told them. She needed a more expensive cauldron this year, Snape must have gotten fed up with the amount of Cauldron explosions that kept happening with the older ones they asked for…or maybe he was just preparing for Jacob to come in and blow up the entire castle. They weren't asking for any new herbology gloves but she knew she needed some…that last class had really torn them up; the rest of the classes were the standard higher advanced books as she expected, nothing spectacular except from; Professor Quirrell- Muggle Studies teacher.
Her face lit up, Professor Quirell was back?! Muggle studies were about to be so much more interesting again…and Sirius was the New defence against the dark arts teacher? How had he kept that from her?! Her uncle was going to be teaching her…oh her uncle was going to be teaching her…that's fun.
Before she could read anything else she heard a muffled "X….re…w" Was one of the portraits arguing outside the library? Folding the letter back up she stuffed it into her pocket and put her glasses up on top of her head. Stepping out of the Library she looked on either side of the corridor, not hearing anything else she put her hand back on the handle of the door to go back in when this time she heard "Max…up….head…here now." Was someone wanting her attention?
"Maxine!"
Reaching her room, the voice became clearer, Was her mum calling for her? She never called for her. Coughing slightly she yelled back "Does somebody want me!"
The voice yelled back "Yes, now get down here sleepy head."
With a frown, Max started walking towards the steps, what was so urgent that her mum was yelling at her like that for…actually what was so important for Lily to actually remember to call for her at all. Reaching the top of the stairs she went down them at a fair pace to find her mum standing there arms crossed "How deep were you sleep Maxine, I've been calling for you for nearly 15 minutes sleepy head. Also since when have you slept in the west wing."
With a slight tilt of her head, Maxine could only think Really, you just noticed I lived in the west wing now?! With a roll of her eyes, Max replied "What's so urgent?" Her mum seemed to be taken aback by her moving the conversation on so quickly but quickly and proudly boasted "Jacob's got his first Hogwarts Letter! We're having a large breakfast to celebrate."
Max's shoulders slumped, so no they didn't remember it was her birthday again. She was seriously fed up with it now, she watched as Jacob proudly thrust his Hogwarts letter up for her to see, her mum looked at her expectantly and Max just turned on her heels "Oh is that all, I'll go back to reading my own list then." She was about to start walking up the stairs again when her mum hissed "Maxine!"
Taking a deep breath and biting her tongue she turned around to face her mum "Well there wasn't a big fanfare when I got my first letter, or my second. And well it's pointless by the third time." For a moment she saw her mum's eyes soften before she said "Can you at least have breakfast with us."
Biting her tongue once more "Fine." Her mum smiled slightly and turned around heading down the stairs. Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see Trusst struggling to carry some plates out of the kitchen, Max could see how it was going to end already and slid down the bannister, for the remaining amount of steps passing her mum in an instant and leaping towards Trusst "Here let me help you."
The elve raised her neck slightly "Thank you Miss Maxie" That's when a loud scrapppe noise was made from behind the two of them "You will respect your employer and call her, her real name!" Max's dad had stood up eyes furious. He went to raise her hand to slap the elf but Max stepped in, her feet sliding against the wooden panelling "She is! Everyone under our family's employment has their own name for me that gives me a connection to them, and them to me; Which you would have known if you ever paid attention"
If her Dad was a cartoon character, steam would be coming out of his nose right now but he lowered his hand "If you say so, Maxine." Maxine still carrying two of the plates put them down, her own and Rose's and sat down at the furthest end of the table she could eat and tucked into the breakfast, Ignoring her brother almost kissing his Hogwarts letter,w without looking up from her meal she said "If you actually want to go to Hogwarts, you might want to reply. The response is requested for this evening."
"Maxine!" Her dad snapped.
She looked at him in his hazel eyes and responded "What? I'm being serious. It's on the first part of the letter which introduces you to Hogwarts, With Professor McGonagall's signature at the bottom. It's even in bold. I was just pointing it out so we don't annoy the professors before Jacob even goes."
James sighed "Alright fine, Where did you put that parchment, Jacob?" Her brother and dad started scrambling to find the piece of paper that had floated off too. Going back to her breakfast she looked at her watch, still another 2 hours at the very least until she was meant to meet up with Dan and Cass.
Feeling a pair of eyes on her she looked up and noticed her mum staring at her sipping a small glass of orange juice "So we're going to Diagon Alley today to get Jacob his first Hogwarts supplies. It would mean a lot to him if you were there." Max snorted and almost brought her food back up sure it would, but she responded calmly "Sorry I've already made plans for today."
With a sigh, her Mum said "Oh, okay. What are you doing today then." Confused by why her mum seemed to be so interested for once she said "I'm meeting with Dan and Cass to get our supplies this year before grabbing lunch. Then Sirius is going to take us to this place he wants to show us."
Her mum's face lit up "Oh your friends could join us, and I'm sure Sirius wouldn't mind pushing this thing back." Maxine went on to argue that no she would not be doing that but before she could her Dad came back parchment in hand "That's a brilliant idea, honey; It would be great to have you along with us Maxine. But we need to leave in the next 10 minutes before the crowds get too busy. So if you're coming go and get dressed so we can leave."
Anger started to boil up within her but she pushed it down, they were actually talking to her for once which was a change. She shouldn't throw it all in the bin just because they were more oblivious than Dan. Taking a deep breath she stood up "If you hadn't noticed I am dressed. I have been for nearly 50 minutes now, in the same way, I've been awake for nearly 2 hours. All I need to do is get my shoes on and grab my bag"
As she spoke, she pulled her Ash wand from her pocket and felt her hand among the ridges. She could feel her magic flow through the wand and made a semi-circle shape as she cast "Accio Bag!" Imagining her over-the-shoulder side bag in her head. After a few seconds, the brown leather bag crashed into her hands and she opened it up. When she had bought the bag the previous year she had gotten it enchanted so that she would be able to carry everything she would need for a day in it. Her textbooks, money pouch, a spare pair of shoes and everything she would need for that time of the month. She was prepared for every situation with this bag.
Grabbing the pair of boots she kept in her bag she pulled them on and stretched her neck, placed the strap over her left shoulder and said "There I'm ready to go." Dad looked her up and down and was about to comment but seemed to be silenced by her mum hushing him with a glare. His lip twisted before her dad finally said "Give the rest of us 5 minutes and we will head off."
Her Mum sighed and said, "While your dad finishes getting Jacob ready, could you help me with Rose please?"
Max nodded and started grabbing her sister's things including the potions she would need to control her blood pressure. Max could almost feel Rose roll her eyes as she said "Mum, I can do this myself, I'm a big girl now." Mum sighed "I know you are but your sister helping out for once will speed things up."
Blood was drawn this time as bit her tongue, Don't say anything. Maybe focus on what her Dad and Jacob were saying? His dad cockily said "You'll get your key to your very own trust Vault! It's an old tradition for a Potter child to get the key to his trust vault when he turns eleven. You'll have your own money to do your shopping from now on. You'll barely need us anymore!" Max wished she could scream. If they really didn't need them anymore he could go in himself or go in with just his godfather.
Her dad seemed to move the spell on and asked Jacob "What spell do you want to learn first when you get your wand?" Max could hear Jacob jump up and down on the ground "That spell, Maxie just used. That summon spell was so cool." A Small smile appeared on her face, well at least she had left an impression on him that lasted longer than 5 minutes which was nice. Then her dad had to put his foot into his mouth "That's great Jay, but your sister's name is Maxine and It's not only a pretty advanced spell; especially for a first-year like yourself but it's also really boring. What about a spell like incendio?"
Her brother huffed "Fire's cool but Maxie was able to summon stuff to her, that's much cooler." Her dad sighed and Maxine grinned before turning back to her mum "There's everything you need." Her mum thanked her and called through to the other room "James, that's us ready when you two are." The two boys walked out and James said "I'll go first"
Striding to the fireplace, he grabbed a pinch of floo powder and called out "The Leaky Cauldron!" Her dad vanished in a flash of green leaving the empty fireplace. Jacob went next and repeated exactly what his dad said, down to the exact pronunciation. He really was a mini version of their dad, wasn't he?
Rose went forward next, her backpack popping against her robes and said gently "Leaky Cauldron!" The floo powder got stuck in her throat as she spoke, causing her to have a coughing fit as she left. Max and her mum stared between themselves as her Mum said "I insist you go first. Dad first, me last.2
Rolling her eyes at her mum's behaviour she responded "I'm not going to not come through Mum, have some faith in me. It's not like I don't have to go to Diagon Alley in a couple of hours anyway to meet my friends. You go through it first. Make sure Rose is okay." Her Mum huffed but stormed ahead and went through the flames, vanishing in a flash of green within seconds.
Resorting her strap, Max strolled towards the fireplace and grabbed the Floo Powder in her hands. The powder was feeling very thin, she would need to get Mum or Dad to replace it before one of them tried to teleport and lost an arm. Managing to get enough in her hands, she entered the large stone chimney and shuddered from the chill before slamming her hand downwards and letting the floo powder go "Leaky Cauldron!" Everything vanished in a flash of green and as went between Potter Manor and the Leaky Cauldron she could see the other Floo connections flashing as thousands of Wizards and witches across Europe used the network to get around.
It all came to an end a few seconds later as she was thrown from the Floo out of the Leaky Cauldron Fireplace, realising what was going to happen, she tucked her head in and put her hands out and went into a roll once she hit tom's old dirty floor, before pushing herself up as her feet once more passed by the grounds. The entire thing ended
with her back on her feet.
Looking around she noticed both her Dad and brother a mess against the front door of the old pub. Her sister leaned against one of the high bar tables as her Mum searched for her inhaler. Rolling her eyes at her family she said "Mum, her inhaler is in the right side pocket at the top. Also…wow…just wow Dad. Grandad told me you were bad when it came to Floo, I didn't think he meant that bad"
Her dad picked him and Jacob off the floor and with a groan replied "Yeah, well we can't all be as elegant as he was"
"HEY Max, is that you?!"
Snapping around on the heels of her feet to find the owner of the voice, she found the barkeep Tom who smiled at her madly while he poured a customer a pint "It is you! How are you doing"
Smiling back she approached the bar and said "The same old. Still getting into mischief with Dan and Cass, oh and Chloe…and the twins" he burst out laughing "I'm glad to hear it, kid!"
The man handed the drink to the customer and asked "Talking of Dan, have you heard anything from him or Tracey about the muggleborn introduction course? According to the professors, they were a massive e help last year." The muggleborn Introduction…she didn't recognise that…oh he was talking about the muggle meet and greet "Oh yeah, There going to arrive about 9 next Friday for it"
The man's grin got even brighter "O' Brill. Oh, that r'minds me, yer friend…what's their name…Marinette! She wrote and booked a room and wanted me to let you know if I saw you that she would be here for the final week of the holidays."
Subconsciously Max's face lit up, her cheeks flashing red for a few seconds and a massive smirk appearing on her face "Oh fantastic, thanks Tom" the man gave her a thumbs up before he got busy again with another customer.
Her mum gave her a confused look and asked gently "What's that all about?" Waving her off Max said "Nothing important, I'll explain later" Her mum gave her an annoyed look before the Emerald green eyes lit up "And who's this Marinette, a boyfriend?" Max's face lit up once more "No nothing like that Mari's just a friend and she's a girl."
Her mum raised an eyebrow but before she could comment on anything her dad said "Ah we don't have the time to waste, Let's get to Grittingotts to get Jay his key" Max sighed in relief as her dad actually managed to break the tension for once. Leaving the pub through the back entrance, they out on the Diagon Ally side of things, Max was pretty disappointed to see that the wall was already open but her family just charged on ahead.
Noting that Rose was falling behind, Max slowed down and wrapped her arms around her younger sister "I hope we can get your asthma sorted out soon" Rose nodded "Thanks Maxie" They came to a stop in front of the bank and Max was already sneaking into her bag to grab her key. She would sneak off while her dad fumbled around trying to sort out the Trust vault. The bank was already very full and it was going to be the perfect chance to slip away. The second her dad and brother started to charge towards one of the bank tellers, Max let go of Rose and slid away from her family. Key in hand she went to a dwarf and sat at one of the tables "Master Dwarf, I would like to go to my Trust Vault." The drawings looked down at her, his beard full and Lucious, and reached his hand out for her key.
She stretched slightly for it and studied it "Ah Miss Potter, everything seems to be in order. I'll take you down to your vault myself. The boss needs to have a few words with you" Max bowed and said, "Of course.", Thank you, master Dwarf." The Dwarf closed his stand and hobbled down from it "Follow me." Max snuck past her family as her dad tried to argue with the goblin banker who just blinked unimpressed at the wizard.
With a chuckle, Max realised that she would have plenty of time to get down to her vault and back again before they realised she was gone. Going through the metal gate she felt a strange sensation like all of her inners had been taken out and rearranged. The Dwarf stopped and looked at her in concern before saying "Apologies about that Miss Potter, I didn't think about the new wards in place. Don't worry the sensation will pass"
Whincing she nodded and followed the dwarf onto the car. Since her first visit to the bank two years prior she had gotten used to the fast cart and the huge drop…although drops help when you pulled crazy quidditch moves like she did nearly every match, the death defier the captain called her, the Reckless idiot from Madam Pomffrey.
With a mad grin that matched Sirius, she held on tightly as they shot around the bends including a waterfall that wasn't there last time she went under. Shaking her head she dried herself off like a dog just in time for them to come to a sudden halt at the Vaults. Standing up she frowned as she noticed all the vaults were one over. The far one on the end that used to be Rose's was now a blank Vault door while the one that used to be her grandfather's held a Stag on it, Her dad's.
Her eyes burrowed but followed the Dwarf to her new vault location and studied it, It seemed to be the same vault door. She instinctively reached for the keyhole and put it into the vault and twisted the key, The vault door opened with a hiss revealing her Galleons, Kuts and Sickels. Grabbing her normal amount of 100 galleons and 50 knuts she left the vault quickly not wanting to run into her family again.
Closing the vault door she looked at Dwarf, "You mentioned your boss wanted to talk to me right?" The dwarf nodded "If you get back on the cart I'll take you to him now." Max almost skipped to the Cart and got in. It wasn't every day that a wizard or witch got to see one of the higher-ups of the banks, never mind a teenager. They rocketed out of the caves up through the marble walls of the main building, the entire cart seeming to shrink so that they could do so before the cart ground against the metal of the tracks and they came to a stop on the upper floor of the building which was office buildings for the bank. The dwarf got out first and stormed ahead not waiting to see if Max was keeping up. They walked through the building for about 5 minutes.
They reached a large office with a sign on it that read 'Captain Tunnock' The Dwarf knocked on the door and said "Sir, Miss Potter is here." There was some shuffling from inside the office before the person inside said "Enter." The dwarf opened the door revealing a High elf, his head in his hands before smiling at her Max slightly "It's nice to meet you again Miss Potter, Come in and grab a seat."
Nervously, Max crossed through the door. She had only even seen a few High elves and they were normally when Master Aqua took them to the Crossroads of Light. What Max did know about them however was that along with being extremely tall, they had life spans that lasted thousands of years and their mastery of magic was beyond that of any other being in existence.
Max sat on the chair in front of her and it shot up so that she was actually able to see over the hill "Ah much better I can see you properly now. As I was saying it's nice to see you again. It feels like it was only a year ago but it must have been a decade since your family came into my office. You were just a babe after all."
The high elf pushed forward a bowl with some wrapped biscuits in it and said "Chocolate Waffer?" Grabbing it tentatively, she unwrapped it and slowly started eating when his eyes widened "Oh right I should probably reintroduce myself seeing how long it's been…or introduce myself seeing as I don't expect you to remember me at all. I'm Captain Oretgas Tunnock, formerly of the Kalnore royal guard. About 80 years ago I joined the bank as head banker of several of the ancient families including yours."
Max nodded and said "So why do you need to see me and not my Dad, he is the head of the house of course" The man smiled and went into his drawer and pulled out a small box "What do you know about how how the House system works."
Going silent for a few moments Max started to think before muttering out "The Houses are part of the Wizmagot. They are led by the Lord or Lady of the House. Depending on how backwards the house is, it's most likely to be a Lord. If the Lord or Lady has a child they are the heir, and if it's multiple children it's the eldest child."
The high elf smiled "Well done. Well, there's one thing you left out about the Heirs is that a child can not become an official heir until they officially enter their Teenage years. 13 to be exact. Miss Potter, as of today, as the eldest child of House Potter, you are now the Heriess to House Potter." Before passing the box over to her.
With a slight shake in her hand, she opened it up to find a ring made of some unknown black metal with the Potter family crest engraved on a small circle pad on top. She went to reach for it before asking "Wait shouldn't this be going to Jacob?" The high elf shook his head "Your father did not come to my office to change it at all before today and now it's too late. Only you can choose to give your brother the title of heir."
It was only a second but she felt her eyes glaze over and she grabbed the ring. She didn't hate Jacob, but he always got the attention, the love, The interest. Never her! She was always given the annoyance or the why don't you do this or…or ignored. But now she was getting something that Jacob couldn't.
The ring slid onto her left ring finger with ease before shrinking to fit her small hand. Tunnock smiled at her "I'll send you a letter at a later time letting you know what your duties are. But before you go as I don't want to keep you too long, I want to let you in on a cool little thing about your ring."
Max tilted her head and asked, "What?"
"The newer heir and Lord rings can act like muggle debit cards. In shops around Diagon Alley when you're paying you will find they have small metal notches on them. If you put your ring onto the notch for 5 seconds. A perfect transaction is made meaning you don't need to carry tons of Galleons around with you everywhere you go."
"Oh my Merlin, that's brilliant"
"Oh isn't it just. Now go on, get shopping. I'm sure you want to catch up with your parents."
She gave him a strained smile "Catch up with my parents…yeah." Before leaping from what was now a high stool to the ground and strolling out of his office, the door closed automatically behind her. She followed the Drawf who led her to a set of stairs and she said "You've got stairs in this place?!"
The dwarf gave her a crazy look "Of course we have stairs lassie. Do you have any idea how much time we would waste if we used the carts to go to every single place?!"
Flinching back as she realised she had asked a stupid question she followed the dwarf down and when they reached the bottom she thanked him for his time before rushing to the exit to get out of the bank before her family got back to the surface too. As she walked out of the bank and started to walk down the steps to Diagon Alley she looked at her watch, 10 minutes until she was to meet Dan and Cass. She had spent more time down there than she had planned.
Suddenly, she collided with a brick wall. At least it felt like a brick wall but there shouldn't be a brick wall where she was walking…and she was still on her feet, and was that hair that she could feel above her? Stepping back she looked up and thoughts about time or family went out of her head as she called out "Hagrid!" The half-giant "Maxie, it's great to see yer. Ho'r yer break been?"
Shrugging her shoulders, she responded "So, so. Lessons with my tutor have been great. Time with the family not so great." he placed a hand gently on her head and messed up her hair "Family can be difficult. Yer just havta try. Fill me in on what's happened when you get back after the summer." He hugged her slightly before moving towards the bank "I wish I could stay and chat but important Hogwarts business from the headmaster yer know."
She smiled brightly at him "Well it's probably better to do what the headmaster asks, See you at Hogwarts Hagrid!"
Then he bellowed out "Oh Maxie, Happy Birthday! I've got yer a small something, it'll be waiting at your home when you get back." Before Maxie could respond the groundskeeper was already inside the bank and a small "You didn't have to get me anything Hagrid, just remembering would have been enough" came out from her voice.
Whipping away a tear that started to roll down her face, she made her way towards the Leaky Cauldron, passing by the shops that were starting to fill up with families doing their weekly shopping and students catching up for the first time since school ended.
She was almost at the Leaky Cauldron when a voice coughed "Now what is my amazing goddaughter doing out and about all alone in Diagon Alley this early in the morning" She snapped around to find a man in a dark grey suit and short red cape lining against the wall, a cowboy hat resting on his head, hiding his eyes. But even with the different appearance, Max recognised the man "Uncle Sirius!" She ran towards him and launched into a hug.
He chuckled as he caught her hug "Hey Pup. Missed me?" Her grip on her godfather got tighter "So much, how was Ohio?" He rolled his eyes "Much more boring than Me and Remus thought. But we kept ourselves busy" Max giggled until Sirius said, "Now I didn't plan on seeing you till later but since I'm here I want to give you the first part of your present."
He reached Into his pockets which must have been enchanted in the same way her bag had been and pulled out an old camera. It was a greyish Polaroid camera that Chloe had shown her the year before. The same one her dad Ted used to use.
Max's hands delicately reached for it and Sirius grinned "Ha they thought you would like it. Chloe mentioned how interested you were in photographs last summer and Ted mentioned how you stared at his old Polaroid when you were around there for Christmas. So Ted let me take it away and I sent it to Polaroid…who are now branching into wizarding photos. So they gave the outframe a clean up and the insides were updated with new tech from their newer models."
Max's hands wrapped around it and just like her wand two years prior it immediately felt right in her hands, "So you the camera has two modes, first is normal photo mode and the next is moving photo mode. You can change between the two by clicking the switch on the other side of the photo button." Max ran her hand along the button and clicked it, she probably wouldn't notice the difference until the photo was taken.
Sirius then pointed past her "Take a photo before I have to go. There that butterfly" Just behind her was a small blue butterfly, the same one that had been turning up ever since she had got her wand…what was it doing here? It had floated onto the red and black flowers outside of the apothecary shop. Instinctively she reached her hand around and undid the cap of the camera and put it to her face, She looked through the mirror and sized the camera. With a snap, the photo was taken and the Polaroid popped up, a small Polaroid coming out. Grabbing it she did what she had seen Nymph do the year before and shook the picture. The ink seemed to dry a few seconds later.
Looking at the now-dry Polaroid, she noticed that the Butterfly flew onto the Flower, sat then flew away. Her first magical photo. She turned to face Sirius again and said "Thank you!" Hugging him tightly. Sirius grinned "Happy Birthday Pup" He hugged her for a few minutes before letting go "See you in a couple of hours" before jogging away. She flipped her bag open and gently put her new camera and picture in before closing it up. Even if her parents hadn't remembered this was still going to be a great day.
Closing her bag she walked through the wall to the Leaky Cauldron just before it was about to close. That was too close for her liking. Shrugging it off she opened the door to the Cauldron and sighed in relief as she smelt the smell of Tom starting to cook lunches. The barkeep knew how to make a good meal that was for sure.
Looking around for Dan and Cass, she couldn't see them but it didn't really surprise her, if they were there they would be at the corner table which was hidden from the sight of the entrance to Diagon Alley. She was just about to start heading over to it when a man wearing bright purple robes and a turban fell in front of her onto the ground "Ouch" Kneeling down she offered a hand out which the man graciously took "Oh thank you, that man didn't watch where he was going; oh it's you Miss Potter"
Smiling at the man, the reason his purple robes were familiar clicked and she said "It's good to see you Professor Quirrell" Her former professor smiled "How have you kept, Has your interest in the muggle world stayed Miss Potter?"
Max grinned "It has, in fact, my godfather got me a muggle camera that's had some slight wizarding features added to it" The man's smile turned to a grin "Oh that's brilliant, you must let me see it when we're back at school" Max nodded "Will do, I'm glad your back professor"
Putting her hand out for him to shake "It feels good to be back." They said their goodbyes and Mac continued on her ear to find her friends who had arrived slightly early and were in the middle of bickering, about what she had no idea but quietly she opened her bag and pulled out her camera.
She set the camera to normal mode and aimed it so the two were in the frame before snapping the picture. The snapping sound of the shutter made the duo jump up and around in shock before their eyes landed on her "Maxie!" She grinned and sat down across from them as her photo came out of the Polaroid, giving it a quick shake before looking at it "What You've missed me already"
She let the picture fall to the table before putting her fist out for a fist pump which they returned. Cass grabbed the photo from the table and went "Nice photo but couldn't you have taken it at a better time" Dan looked at it, stretching over her to do so "Actually I think that captures you perfectly actually Cassie" A second later Cassandra's fist was against Dan's ribs who gasped for air. His mouth became a doughnut from the sudden pain.
Max chuckled "So how are the two of you doing?" The two of them glanced at each other before turning back, Cass saying first "Aren't we meant to be the ones asking you that?-" before Dan carried on "-After all, it's your birthday!" The two of them finished the sentence together "Happy Birthday!"
Max grinned "Thanks guys…and I hope you've kept our promise about no Presents…wait why are you guys not surprised by the camera" Dan grinned "Oh Sirius told us about it like a month ago…and we did break the no presents rule but we didn't go too expensive" He reached behind himself and grabbed something that had been wrapped in Happy Birthday wallpaper. she passed it to max who took it "Guys you really shouldn't have."
The gift was thin and rectangular like her notebooks were, Her eyes lit up and she gently undid the folds of the wrapping paper and her mouth twisted as she felt the material "Is that dragonskin?" Dan grinned "Hebridean Black to be exact. Fire and waterproof." Tearing off the remaining wrapping paper, her mouth opened to see the Hebridean Black notebook, larger than her old ones. "Herbiean Black... I thought you guys said you weren't going expensive?!" Dan shrugged "We're rich remember, We don't really know what too expensive is." A tear dropped from Max's eye and it splashed the notebook, the teardrop just rolling off the book "Thanks, Dan."
Her younger friend grinned "You haven't seen the best part yet. Open it up." Undoing the clasp she opened the cover up to find that the pages had space for the Polaroids she took just above her Journal. She knew the first photo she was going to take for it. Shuffling around the table so she sat to Dan, She grabbed her Camera from the other side and flicked the camera back onto Wizard mode and aimed the camera at the three of them and said "Smile!" She had no idea what the other two were actually doing but snapped the photo.
Bringing the Camera back down she grabbed the new Polaroid and shook it dry and smiled brightly as she saw that there was her holding the camera up, Dan Leaning over her shoulder sticking his Tongue out and Cass leaning all the way past Dan with bunny fingers over his head and a grin from ear to ear on her face. Her best friends. She immediately put the Polaroid into the first page of the notebook and said "Thanks Dan" Hugging him tightly.
Sulking back over to the other side of the table Tom came round and said "Mr Greengrass, your fish supper, Miss Malfoy your Roast chicken dinner, and Maxie, these two said you would want your usual so here's one ham and cheese panini with chips and a side salad…are you sure you don't want anything else?" Max grinned "No thanks Tom; this is exactly what I want. Although could I get a Pepsi Max?" The barkeep smiled "Of course, What about the two of you." The others put in their drink orders and Tom vanished once more to get their drinks.
Now that they were alone again Cassandra pulled out a gift bag from under the table and passed it over "Happy Birthday Maxie, Now I did remember about the no gift rule and I did agree with Dan to keep it inexpensive…but no I got you something expensive." max went into the gift bag and pulled out a pair of Hebridean Black ankle boots." Max just looked into Cass's eyes "I'm not even going to even try and guess how much these cost you but thankyou-thankyou-thankyou" Her friend grinned "I knew you wanted some new boots and when my dad mentioned how there was actually a legal supply of Hebridean Black arrived in the market, I alerted Dan and we got the jump on some of the shipment for this."
She looked at her two friends fondly "Thanks guys, Despite my parents, you guys, Sirius and Remus always make my birthday a great day Actually I can throw Hagrid onto that list today. He's got me something apparently"
Dan spurted out his drink before saying "What? Like Hagrid, the groundskeeper? I hope it's not some of his rock cakes, We don't need anybody losing any teeth again." Dan rubbed the back of his teeth again and they all nervously laughed, After a few minutes Max said "I doubt it is, He always tells us his rock cakes need to be eaten fresh"
Dan shrugged his shoulders "Don't come crying to us tomorrow because you broke you're teeth on them." Rolling her eyes at him Max huh hushed and dug into her panini. The entire meal tasted much better than her breakfast due to her actually being with people who cared about her.
Max without looking up from her meal asked Cass "So how's thing been with you this past week?" Cass sighed and Dan groaned, guess she knew what they had been bickering about then. Cass responded "Well Dad almost completely threw me out of the house yesterday until Mum stopped him, and he tried to hit Samuel for not following his instructions about telling him what your parents are up to and putting listening charms on your home…until Sam reminded him that it was me who you're friends with which made him storm off into his office in a huff. He really doesn't like the fact that he has a daughter…which I don't understand as he married into House Black who are known for their witches."
With a chuckle, Max replied, "What you expect your dad to have any brains?"
Dan sapt out his drink "HAHAHAHA"
Cass on the other hand smiled slightly "Yeah you're right. Thanks, Maxie, So what about your parents?" Maxie sighed and downed her drink, she wasn't a fan of alcoholic drinks -not that Tom would serve her any- but she felt like she needed one; where was Chloe when she needed her? Putting her pint glass down she said "Well surprise, surprise they forgot again." Her two friends just rolled their eyes and she carried on "In fact, they threw a huge breakfast celebration; not for the birthday girl but rather for little Jacob who gasped like every witch and wizard got his first Hogwarts letter. They were acting like it's meant to be some massive celebratory deal."
Dan smirked "Lemme guess, he was holding it up high and proud" Max scowled but chuckled "Spot on, Then they wanted me to spend my day coming on Jacob's first little shopping trip. When I said I had plans with you guys they said you could come along!"
Cass raised her eyebrows "If I remember correctly, your dad was never someone who could lose track of people…so how did you get away." Max shrugged her shoulders "I just walked away when we entered the bank. They were so clueless with the tellers that it was simple and judging by the fact they haven't been yelling my name looking for me, I doubt their worried about me."
The two of them sighed with Dan saying "I know my parents are actually great…but who needs parents when we've got each other!" The three clanged glasses together and their conversation turned to school as they started to discuss their new classes. Max discussed her brief meeting with Professor Quirrell and then said to her two friends "So we're totally jumping Sirius about why he didn't tell us about him being the new Defense teacher right." The others grinned "Of course"
The next time Max looked at her watch it was nearly 2 in the afternoon and she looked at them "Guys, we were meant to meet Sirius like 5 minutes ago." They quickly paid for their meal and their multiple drinks and left the Cauldron arriving back in Diagon Ally which was now packed to the brim with shoppers.
Max felt her heart spike slightly due to how busy it was, She wasn't a fan of enclosed spaces with masses of people, thankfully both Dan and Cass noticed the colour draining from her face and they pulled her towards one of the quieter sidestreets. She remembered what Master Aqua had taught her
Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth. Deep yet controlled breaths every time
With every exhale she felt her heart slow down and the colour return to her face and once she felt herself more she unwrapped her arms from around her friends and weakly said "Thanks, guys."
Dan chuckled and placed a hand on her shoulder "Some of us hate heights, others hate the ocean and some hate crowded cramped places. It's fine Max"
They stared out into the crowds and it was just a constant flow of people they were never going to be able to get to Crackle Street where Sirius was going to meet them when suddenly a cold hand rested itself on her shoulder and shivers shot down her spine, a Quiet, creepy voice croaking "There you are."
Max jumped up in fright and shot around, fumbling for her wand as she did so and stared into the dark alley only to see the familiar red robes of her godfather and her two best friends laughing their guts off on the floor. Stopping her fumbling for her wand she placed it away and rolled her eyes "Ha ha real funny Uncle Sirius."
The older prankster stuck his tongue out at her "Just doing what I do best. Now how's my favourite niece and how are you stoic Dan." Dan rolled his eyes at Sirius "I'm good Sirus." While Cass hugged her cousin once removed tightly "Hiya Uncle Sirius. So why didn't you tell us you were going to be teaching at Hogwarts?"
Ruffling Cass's hair he replied "Because I didn't want to ruin the cool surprise…and because I still had some paperwork to sign with Albus until just like a week ago but it's all signed now so you've got me teaching you this year! Don't think I'm going to go easy on the three of you." Cass pouted forcing a laugh from the group.
Sirius wrapped an arm around Max along with her two friends as he said full of joy "Now how about we go and find out what I got Maxine for her second gift." Maxine's eyes sparkled, she had no idea what it actually was. She had put a couple of ideas out there but didn't think Sirius would get her any of them. Especially after he went out of the way to get her a Polaroid.
He led them down through the dark ally until they came out onto another street which was more run down than Diagon Alley but still cleaner and in better condition than Knockturn Ally "Welcome to Silicle Ally, the second had shops of any wizard's dreams and the new home of your second present Maximillius"
He continued to lead them through the streets which Max noticed were unusually quiet but she didn't say anything not wanting to annoy Sirius when he was doing so much for her. The street could just be so off to the side that nobody paid much attention to it. It surely didn't mean anything about the quality of the shops.
Snapping back to reality she noticed that they had reached a small store that had freshly been done up, to the extent that you could still smell the paint drying. Stretching her head up she looked at the name of the store Thunderstrike Tattoo's
Was Sirius actually getting her a Tattoo?! There was no way! She had mentioned it to him months ago in a letter after she had seen Chloe had gotten one on her upper arm. She didn't expect her godfather to actually let her get one. He was stricter than the Tonk's were despite being a prankster, something about wanting to keep her safe or something. But they wouldn't be here unless he was letting her get one.
Oh, Morgana. She was going to have to try and hide this from her parents, especially her dad based on his reaction to the clothes she was wearing today. She definitely couldn't have it on her arm so that people could see like Chloe.
Sirius opened the door to the Tattoo shop slowly and said "Ready to get your first Tattoo pup." Max felt her head bob up and down like a mad dog and she followed right behind him. Behind her she could tell Dan was rolling her eyes and Cass was trying to avoid bursting into laughter.
When they got in they found a woman in her late 20's cleaning her desk with some Dettol who looked up with a small smile on her face "Ah Lord Black, How good to see you again. Is it time for your next appointment already or are you here for another reason?" Sirius stepped out of the way to reveal Max to the woman.
Studying her Max noticed her bright pink hair that was in a long ponytail, the light makeup on her face and the tattoos that seemed to cover her body. "Ah, You're here for Miss Potter's appointment. Well Miss Potter it's a pleasure to get to meet you at long last. Your godfather has been telling me all about you for the past 3 years. So do you have any idea what you want to be your first tattoo? I've got some art ideas that I keep in the store but if you have a drawing or Picture of something we can use that."
She could use a picture…the butterfly that she had taken the picture of before…It was a really beautiful butterfly…She was going to get that Butterfly tattooed onto her. Reaching into her side bag she grabbed the Polaroid and handed it over to the woman "Ah a picture of a Butterfly, very beautiful. Where would you like me to tattoo it onto you."
That was a difficult decision if she chose anywhere that her parents could see she would definitely be grounded for life. So she needed one somewhere inconspicuous. Liker on her back or chest…Back definitely sounds more preferable.
"Could I get it on my left shoulder blade?"
The older woman nodded "Of course, If you follow me through back we can get started right away. Lord Black, can you and Heir Greengrass stay through here, please? Miss Malfoy, you're more than welcome to join us."
Cass almost skipped to join the pair while Max's godfather made a mock bow "Of course Sally."
Sally led Cass and Max through to the backroom where there was a flat hard bed, a chair and other items needed to tattoo somebody. Max had only seen a tattoo shop once before during a TV programme that Tracey had shown her but she definitely thought this shop was much nicer.
Sally looked at her and pointed to the bed, "Take your Jacket and T-shirt off and lie face forward against the bed. Now are you certain you want this picture on your left Shoulder Blade?" Max who was already in the process of removing her jacket nodded "I am, I would like it on my arm but I also like not being grounded. So my Shoulder blade is the best place possible." She didn't say anything about the fact that it being on the left meant that it was the opposite side of where Chloe had her tattoos and so when they sat digester the two sets of tattoos would be super close together.
Max handed her jacket to Cass before pulling off her Wrath of Khan T-Shirt and handing that to her friend too. On her top she had her tank top left on over her bra. She shouldn't need to take either of them off though for Sally to get to her shoulder blade. However, taking off both other layers left her to feel the chill of the room and she felt the hair on her arms stand up on edge.
She lay face forwards against the hard bed as she had been asked to and prepared for Sally to place the needle against her skin but a few moments later when Sally reached her, all she felt was the Polaroid press against her bare skin and Sally move her tank top down slightly so the Polaroid was flat against her skin and flat it certainly was. Sally pressed it against her skin and smoothed it out over every small bump and crack of her shoulder blade before pressing her wand against the Polaroid and casting something under her breath.
The Polaroid started to Heat up on her shoulder blade and Max struggled to not let out a scream of pain before suddenly the pain stopped and the Polaroid was removed from her shoulder blade. Before she could ask what was going on Max felt Sally's wand against her shoulder once more and a light cast of eskipy and her back cooled right down and all lingering pain vanished with a cheerful tone, Sally said "There we go! All done. You can sit up now."
Max pushed herself from the bed with a groan "Where was the needle?" Sally chuckled as she went to give Max the Polaroid back "No Needle, we Don't inflict needle damage like the No-Maj's do." Max grabbed the Polaroid from Sally and her eyes widened as she noticed the butterfly was missing from the photograph as was the flower that it landed on. Looking up she was to ask where they had gone when she was met by a Mirror who said "Do you want to see it?" Max nodded and looked through the mirror which was reflecting another mirror's reflection showing her left shoulder blade. The Picture had perfectly been transferred to her back with the butterfly even flapping its wings.
Suddenly the butterfly took off from the flower that was resting on her shoulder blade and the flower swayed along her back. Max's eyes traced the Butterfly as flew around her front, down her tank top, came out the bottom then travelled up the side to go onto her arm "Whoa." Sally grinned "Cool right?!"
Cass who had been quiet the entire time yelped loudly "So cool! How do you do that?!" Sally chuckled and lowered the mirror to the ground "We take the magical properties of the image and burn it into the person's body. It doesn't take much to burn for the most part and it allows for perfect transference of images. I'll show you it sometime."
Cass almost screamed in glee and Max studied the butterfly that had decided to stay on her arm, it was absolutely stunning. Definitely the best first tattoo she could have gotten. While Cass was still gleefully talking about how Sally had managed to transfer the picture over to her body; Max grabbed her T-shirt and threw it over herself, her body almost immediately heating back up to normal temperatures.
The cold was one thing that she definitely wasn't a fan of, she was very glad she wasn't in Slytherin. She doesn't think she could deal with living in the dungeons with how cold they could be. No the warmth of Ravenclaw tower was perfect for her. Pulling on her coat she grabbed her bag from Cass and looked at Sally "So how much do I owe you for the tattoo?"
Sally chuckled "Nothing, It's a present from your godfather remember." Max slammed her hand against her face and ran it down from her eyes to her mouth "That's right.2 They left the backroom to find Sirius and Dan chatting, the pair looking rather bored from waiting.
The Tattoo artist winked at Sirius and said to him "I'll get you to pay during your next appointment." Sirius's head snapped around to face her "Are you sure? I can very easily pay for your work right now." The woman glared at him "I'm being serious Lord Black."
"Your not Sirius, I am!" A pen was thrown at the older man who swiftly moved out of the way putting his hands up "Okay okay, I will admit that was a pretty bad joke."
Everyone sighed in relief as he admitted it and both Dan and Cass approached Max which made her feel slightly uncomfortable and she took a small step back as Dan gently asked "Can we see it?"
Gently rolling up her sleeve she showed them the butterfly which was still resting on her arm "Whoa." was the only response she got from the two of them. They were quickly shooed out of the store as another customer arrived and the group of 4 looked between themselves as they tried to work out what they were going to do next.
Sirius sighed as he looked at the time "So we're meant to meet the Tonks in like half an hour…I guess I can go and grab that wand holster I promised you all." the three, 3rd-year student's faces lit up and they nodded excitedly. The group made their way back up the alley until they were at the sidestreet where they had met before and stared out into the crowds which had definitely gotten quieter.
Enough to stop Max from panicking? Probably not. But with her godfather and her two friends by her side, she felt like she could deal with anything. They stepped into the crowds and started to make their way towards Ollivander's, the best place to get any wand-related materials. However, before they could reach the shop the storefront exploded open, redwood splintering everywhere and Glass shattering against the brick road as a massive tree trunk with several large branches shot from the store.
The tree reached the other side of the street as the group heard an ungodly shriek and both Max and Dan turned to look at Cass who was groaning with Max asking "Isn't that your little broth-" Cass cut her off before she could finish "Yes…yes it is"
The group looked at the branches of the trunk to see Draco dangling from them, screaming something about his father. The 4 had to roll their eyes and Sirius said "Let's leave this to Cissy…I wonder who's in Olliander's to cause that much damage!"
Before they could say anything else his question was answered as none other than James Potter yelled out "That's ma Boi! Now…Ollivander how do we get unstuck?" Max groaned "You've got to be kidding me?! It was Jacob!" Max knew her brother was powerful, after all, he had been given training in harnessing his magic by Dumbledore for the past 2 years but he had still never held a wand before and the first thing he managed to do with it was blow up Ollivander's.
People started to flock to the store recognising Jacob's voice and Max wanted to scream, Of course, he had to grab all the attention…again! She started to see red into Sirius put a gentle hand on her shoulder "It's not worth it pup…their not worth it. Let's go to the leaky cauldron instead." Max went to argue before Cass and Dan started dragging her away "Come on Super Max. I'm sure Chloe can knock some sense into you."
Max rolled her eyes but let her friends drag her towards the Cauldron where they were met by Andromedra and Ted Tonks. Max glanced at the eldest Black sister and noticed the grey hairs starting to form on her scalp. No doubt brought on by the stress her two daughters caused her. Ted on the other hand was looking healthier than he had for a couple of years, having recovered from a spout of bad dragonpox two years ago.
His eyes were bright and the weight he had put back on made him look more like himself. The jolly man who entertained Max, Cass, Dan and Chloe for hours when they were younger and taught them about the muggle world before them meeting Tracey. The two of them approached her and enveloped her in a warm embrace "Happy Birthday Max!" Max hugged the pair back "Thanks, Guys…Where's Nymph and Chloe?"
Ted through his thumb back towards a corner booth and Max peeked around him, before she felt Cass put weight on her shoulders to also look which was made even worse Dan did the same to Cass making Max almost fall to the floor. But she managed to catch a glimpse of her 17-year-old cousin dowing a Butterbeer as she snuggled into Tulip Karassu. And Max immediately started grinning. After the two of them had been flirting back and forth for over a year, the two of them were finally together. Thank Merlin. She wasn't sure how much more any of them could put up with their pranking romance.
But she couldn't see Chloe who was the person that Max really wanted to see at that point in time. Her head snapped around the cauldron looking for Chloe when her eyes landed on the bar, a bob of semi-long blue hair covered by a beanie. It was Chloe. Within her stomach, she could feel butterflies start to flutter. She had missed her friend and her pep talks since coming home…She had just missed everything about Chloe.
Her friend turned around from the bar Holding two beers and and a butterbeer for herself and the moment Chloe's eyes landed on her, her face lit up. Max's butterflies exploded and she felt slightly sick from it but she studied her friend closely and noticed that the 14-year-old had a Large growth spurt now being at least a head and a half taller than her which just made Max's even worse. Behind her, everything went silent even though she could still hear people muttering. Through the silent gargle, she was able to hear Dan whisper to Cass "She out of it again. Do you want to pinch her or should I"
She didn't even bother rolling her eyes at them at that point and let a grin shoot onto her face, Chloe had more freckles than she had done before they left Hogwarts and Chloe was wearing the bracelet that Max had bought her for her Christmas. Her 'friend' reached the group and put the drinks down before enveloping Max in a giant hug "Maxie!"
With the new growth spirit that Chloe had gone through, Max's head rested just under her chin and rested on top of her chest. As Max tried to take a breath she smelt the perfume that Chloe had on, it was the same one that Cass was going to buy her for her birthday. Max couldn't lie she was jealous that Cass had gotten Chloe something that smelt so nice like that.
"Chloe! I've missed you!"
At this point, even Max was struggling to hide her own feelings from herself that her friends had clearly picked up on but she kept on going "When did you get taller again?! I was just catching up!" Chloe chuckled "Like the past 2 weeks dude. I've had to buy like 5 new pairs of jeans. It's ridiculous!" The two laughed before Chloe hugged Max and Dan and brought them over to a table away from her parents.
Catching the barkeep's eye, Max ordered them all some more butterbeer as they sat down and Chloe opened up wrapping an arm around Max which made her arm light up like a light bulb "So what have my three favourite ravenclaws been up to since term ended"
The 4 of them chatted for 10 minutes with them all catching up until Chloe somewhat soured the mood "No parents again Max?" Max shook her head "What do you think?! Sigh, they are here at Diagon Ally but instead of being here for my birthday, there just here for little Jacob and his first little Hogwarts letter. They didn't remember it was my birthday…again…Truthfully? I'm so over them. I'm not going to waste any more energy hoping they will remember me."
Removing her arm from around Max, Chloe grabbed Max's hand and started rubbing it gently under the table, a huge difference from the normal hardass personality she showed most people. "Good, you're finally taking my advice. Who needs those dickheads. Especially when you've got me." Max chuckled slightly and leaned against Chloe "Yeah…you're right."
Then Chloe shot up and made Max's head shake like a ping-pong ball. Her brain felt rattled but she asked "What was that for?!" Chloe grinned as she reached into her jacket pockets "I booked us tickets to go and see this new film that's out, it's apparently really funny. It's called-" She looked at the Tickets "-Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey"
The trio looked at each other before Dan said, "Wait, what about Tracey?!" Chloe's face lit up "Oh don't worry I phoned ahead and she's going to meet us there. But we need to go now"
The three stood up and struggled to get out of the booth but they made their way to the exit. Chloe leading the way. Just before Max was about to leave she let Sirius know what they were doing and as she started to follow her friends she heard the door to the Diagon Alley side of the pub open and her face drained as she saw her Mum and Dad entering. Hastily she filled behind Cass and Dan. She wasn't going to let them ruin this day for her now.
Black Manor ~Several Hours Later
Max lay against her uncle Remus as her friends headed home for the night and with a sigh she said "Uncle Remus, Sirius…thanks for making this such a great day." Remus hugged her tightly "It's not every day that our niece turns 13, of course, we were going to make it a great day."
Sirius then entered the room with some hot chocolate "and We would love to spend even more time with you but don't forget that tomorrow you start your lessons with Aqua and none of us need to be on her bad side." The three of them shuddered and Max said "Yeah I know…I'll leave after this mug of hot chocolate."
Sirius ruffled her hair and sat on the other side of her until Remus coughed slightly "Paddy my dead, Are you forgetting the final thing?" Sirus shot up "Of shoot I forgot. One minute." Before running out of the room. Turning to face Remus she asked the scruffy man "What are you talking about"
Remus started to whistle and almost ignored her question altogether "You'll see." Maxine started to get excited. The fact that they were saving it for last meant it was something big. Seeing how they had already gotten her a Polaroid Camera, and a tattoo and eventually managed to get her a wand holster which should hopefully narrow down the amount of wand fumbling that she did.
Her godfather returned to the room a few moments later, the fire from the fireplace illuminating his face softly and showing off a long-wrapped gift. And Max knew what it was as there was nothing else with that shape. Her eyes widened and she said, "You guys shouldn't have." Remus chuckled "Wait until you open it first before you start saying that. We could be tricking you." Maxine got up and gently took the long broomstick from her Godfather and gently unwrapped it, her mouth widening as she saw the wood "Oh my god...You guys didn't. No That's way too much money…This broom doesn't even release until August!"
Resting in her hands was the Nimbus 2000, the newest broom in the Nimbus range and as had been revealed the previous week by ministry reports. The fastest broom in the world. Removing the rest of the wrapping paper she studied the broom upside down…"Guys you really shouldn't have." Behind her she heard Remus get up from the couch "Well you're entering 3rd year and you're still using that old comet that you got for helping Ravenclaw win the Quidditch cup in your 1st year. We only thought it was time you got a new broom. It being the newest fancy model is pure chance."
She brought the broom down to her side and hugged her godfather tightly "Thank you so much, Sirius!" Then turned on her heels and hugged Remus even tighter "Thank you, Uncle Remus! Thank you! Thank you!" Remus gasped for air "I'm glad you like it…But…You're crushing…My lungs." She let go of him and sheepishly replied "Sorry."
She held her broom up before looking outside "I should probably go home, it's too late for me to try this today and you're both right I do have Master Aqua's lessons tomorrow." Hugging her two uncles one last time she made her way to their floo powder and slammed it down against the ground as she called out "Potter Manor!"
Potter Manor
Max rolled out of the Fooo, clutching her broom tightly, the house was still lit up which suggested her parents were still awake. If she was quiet she could probably get around them without being seen. Then again she is basically invisible to them most of the time anyway unless it involves Jacob so she's not too worried about being spotted.
Slowly creeping toward the main Living room where the staircase was, she looked around and noticed the amount of shopping bags that had been dumped in the second living room. Most likely all of Jacob's stuff, with maybe some stuff for Rose seeing how her younger sister seemed to be in the middle of a growth spurt.
As she got closer to the main living room she heard voices, It wasn't just her parents awake, both Jacob and Rose were too. By Morgana that made things more difficult. Why couldn't they have gone to bed already? Sighing under her breath she carried on creeping through the Manor and started to listen to their conversation, It was mostly James speaking, "Now Jacob, since you're going to Hogwarts I think you should have my cloak of invisibility. It got me through a lot of trouble when I was your age."
Max bit her lip, Her dad was giving the cloak to him! It was meant to go to the eldest Potter child, that's what it had been for centuries. It was something she was meant to inherit. At this rate, Jacob would somehow become the heir of House Potter. As she got close she studied them and watched as Jacob swished and flicked the cloak on and off multiple times in a row.
Agh her brother annoyed her and he wasn't even doing anything wrong!
As she got halfway to the stairs, chills went shooting up her spine, "YOUNG LADY, WHAT TIME DO YOU CALL THIS! WHERE IN THE NAME OF MERLIN HAVE YOU BEEN!" Her father barked.
Turning to face her Dad she straightened her back "I was at Uncle Sirius and Remus's place."
She answered him truthfully and his eyes were full of rage, as he stood up to his full height, Towering over the rest of the family. "YOU WERE MEANT TO SPEND THE DAY WITH US TO CELEBRATE YOUR BROTHER'S FIRST HOGWARTS LETTER AND HIS FIRST PROPER SHOPPING VISIT TO DIAGON ALLEY!"
Max felt her fists clench together and she tried to calm the raging storm within her as the rainfall outside the manor seemed to slow down and the crackles of the fire came to a near stop, "I was spending time with my friends and family who actually care about me! That's where I was!"
Her Mum shot up and said "DON'T YOU DARE TALK TO YOUR FATHER THAT WAY! WE DO CARE ABOUT YOU, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO IS CONSTANTLY RUDE AND BRUSHES US OFF WHEN WE REACH OUT"
That's what made Max truly snap, "IF YOU REALLY CARED ABOUT ME THEN TELL ME WHAT TODAY IS!"
The two of them were taken aback by her outburst with her Mum saying slightly more gently "It's the 31st of July"
Max nodded before snarkily yelling "AND THAT DOSENT RING ANY BELL IN YOUR HEADS!" The pair shook their heads and Max could help but let a tear start to form "WELL THEN YOU ASSHATS, LET ME REMIND YOU. IT WAS MY BIRTHDAY!"
Max watched as Lily deflated slightly, her mouth opening in horror and her eyes widening in slow motion "Oh no…Maxine…I'm so sor-" Max stepped forward her eyes full of rage as she swept her hand across her body "OH FOR MORGANA'S SAKE SAVE IT, MOTHER. THIS IS THE 3RD YEAR IN A FREAKING ROW. 3 YEARS NOW! MY OWN PARENTS CAN'T EVEN REMEMBER THEIR ELDEST DAUGHTER'S BIRTHDAY!"
James started to speak up trying to find his voice again and sternly said "YOU CAN'T BLAME US! WE BARELY EVER SEE YOU, YOU'RE ALWAYS TRAPPED IN YOUR ROOM, DOING GOD KNOWS WHAT AND REFUSING TO SEE US ALL!"
Her eyes started to hurt as she felt the tears starting to build up "BEFORE I WENT TO HOGWARTS YOU NEVER REMEMBERED I WAS AROUND. I NEVER SLEEP IN, I'M UP EARLIER THAN ANY OF YOU DOING EXERCISE, I HELP THE ELVES WITH BREAKFAST, I DO SOME STUDYING AND YOU KNOW WHAT I SPEND LOTS OF TIME DOWN HERE, OTHER THAN ROSE NONE OF YOU EVER NOTICED ME, IT WAS ALWAYS JACOB THIS, JACOB THAT. NEVER HEY MAX, WANT TO DO SOMETHING TODAY?!"
James started to step back as she slowly approached, her new broom clenched tightly in one hand "SINCE GOING TO HOGWARTS I DIDN'T RECEIVE A SINGLE LETTER FROM YOU. NOT ONE. NEITHER OF YOU EVEN BOTHERED TO SEE ME OFF ON MY FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! UNCLE SIRIUS HAD TO DO THAT. I'VE NEVER RECEIVED A REPLY FROM MY MANY LETTERS TO YOU, YOU FORGOT MY FIRST CHRISTMAS COMPLETELY AND SENT MY SECOND PRESENT THROUGH PROFESSOR MCGONAGALL IN MY SECOND YEAR! IN APRIL!"
The tears were starting to flow now and they only got heavier as did her rage when her mum said "Hun, we never received any of your letters"
"THAT IS TOTAL AND UTTER BULL, I WROTE LETTERS TO THE TWO OF YOU AND ROSE, AND ROSE ALWAYS RESPONDED TO ME SO THOSE LETTERS REACHED THIS MANOR. NOW TO KEEP ON TOPIC, YOU NEVER ASKED ME HOW MY YEAR AT HOGWARTS WAS IN THE FIRST YEAR OR SECOND YEAR. BOTH LAST YEAR AND THIS YEAR THE MOST YOU SEEM TO WANT TO TALK TO ME IS A GOOD MORNING. I'M HOME FOR TWO MONTHS BETWEEN MY SCHOOL YEARS. WITH THE EXTRA STUDYING I DO WITH MASTER AQUA WITH MY FRIENDS I ONLY HAVE ONE MONTH I GET TO SPEND WITH YOU AND YOU WASTE IT. THIS MORNING WHEN YOU CALLED FOR ME I WAS IN GEUINE SHOCK AND ONCE AGAIN IT WASN'T EVEN FOR ME, FOR MY BIRTHDAY. IT WAS FOR JACOB AND HIS LITTLE HOGWARTS LETTER. WELL BOO HOO, I'VE RECEIVED 3 NOW AND IT WASN'T ANY BIG FANFARE."
Her mum seemed to grow a backbone again "DON'T TALK ABOUT YOUR BROTHER LIKE THAT!"
Max growled "LIKE WHAT? LIKE THE SPOILT BRAT THAT THE TWO OF YOU HAVE RAISED HIM TO BE! INSTEAD OF CARING ABOUT THE FACT THAT YOU'VE FORGOTTEN MY 13TH BIRTHDAY AFTER FORGETTING MY 11 AND 12TH, NOT GETTING ME PRESENTS FOR THE PAST 3 BIRTHDAYS AND BASICALLY IGNORING ME 24/7 YOU ONLY ACTUALLY CARE WHEN I DARE INSULT MY PRECIOUS LITTLE BROTHER. WELL LET ME TELL YOU SOMETHING, YOU KEEP TREATING HIM LIKE THIS AND HE'S GOING TO BE TORN APART AT HOGWARTS."
She looked at Jacob and saw how confused he looked, She did feel bad for him and Rose, she hadn't meant to drag them into this, She had let her anger get the better of her and her voice now felt coarse and sore from all the yelling, her eyes stinging from how much she was crying.
Going deadly silent she said, "If you really care, I'm going to ask you two very simple questions about me, that you need to get right."
They nodded, and Max noticed the tears forming in her mum's eyes and the annoyed look on her dad's face. He really didn't care at all. "What house am I in at Hogwarts, and who are my best friends?"
The two went silent and looked at each other, Max felt like she could cut butter with the amount of tension in the room before her dad turned around and said over-confidently "Gryffindor of course, and as for your friends, one of the Weasley kids and the elder Bones girl right?"
She then faced her Mum, who said, "Yeah Gryffindor, Fred and George Weasley and Penny Bones."
The tears were now a flood which Max had to try and wipe away, screaming despite how much her throat hurt "WRONG AND WRONG. I'M NOT A FOOLISH LION. I AM A PROUD RAVENCLAW. I VALUE LEARNING AND KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING THE WORLD. AS FOR MY BEST FRIENDS, WHILE I DO GET ALONG WITH THE TWINS AND PENNY THEY CERTAINLY AREN'T MY BEST FRIENDS. THAT TITLE GOES TO CASSANDRA MALFOY, DANIEL GREENGRASS, TRACEY DAVIES AND CHLOE TONKS. AND I'M GOING TO THE TONKS RIGHT NOW BECAUSE I DON'T WANT TO SLEEP IN THE SAME HOUSE AS YOYU WAN- NO I'M NOT GOING TO GO THERE. CHLOE'S RIGHT, SHE ALWAYS IS ABOUT THE TWO OF YOU. YOU'RE NOT WORTH IT. I'M GOING TO THE TONKS AND I MIGHT SEE YOU TOMORROW NIGHT AFTER MY LESSON WITH MASTER AQUA, BUT I WON'T MAKE ANY PROMISES!"
Max stormed away from the group and went up the staircase to the west wing. Despite it basically being her part of the manor, it felt cold, and alien to her right there and then. She entered her room and grabbed a pair of pyjamas, throwing them into her bag before then sticking her broom in after them and her Journal. That's when she heard it, the hooot hoot
Turning on her feet she found a beautiful midnight black barn owl with electric blue eyes "Oh Hagrid" Approaching the owl, she put her hand out for the Owl to study which it did before pecking her affectionately At the bottom of the cage was a small note "Her name's headwig, take care of her Maxie!"
"Hey girl, so you're name's Hedwig huh, well I'm sure we'll become great friends." Before she opened the window and said to the owl gently, despite the tears "Fly to Greengrass Manor, I'll meet you there tomorrow" The owl nodded and the second Max opened her cage, Hedwig flew off into the dark night.
She was still in disbelief about just how little her parents cared, Everyone had been trying to tell her for years and she just refused to listen. She didn't want to be a pessimist like Chloe…but how could she not when her optimism led to this? Happy with what she had put in her bag, she looked in her mirror quickly and noticed her light makeup running down her face, that's what she deserved for trying to believe the best in people.
She left her room and locked it both with her key and then a spell and headed back downstairs to see her mum nursing the argument with wine in her hands, her eyes glazed over slightly as she looked at it. Her dad was gone, no doubt off somewhere taking his anger out on some poor drunk. Jacob and Rose had been sent to bed she assumed, judging by the fact that they weren't still down here…she would have to apologise to them when she came back…whenever that was.
As she reached the floo, she took one last look around the manor. Was this really her home at all now? Shaking her head she slammed the floo powder down to the ground and said through the tears "No.27 Startly Lane!"
Tonks House- Wales
Rolling out of the Floo she noticed all 4 Tonk's eyes on her. Chloe was the first one reaching for her when the girl noticed her opinion. Max was 90% sure Chloe said something to her, asking if she was okay but the only thing Max could muster her to say was "Andy, could I stay here tonight." Andromeda looked at her sad "Oh Maxy, you poor girl of course you can. Nyphadora, could you please go and run her a warm bath."
Max watched as Nymph ran out of the room. Due to her exhaustion, Max didn't notice at the time but on her Family ring a small crack started to form.
Chloe's Dairy
Entry 1st August 1991
Hey Dairy, it's been a while…But I can't really say what I want to say out loud so it's going in here. I hate James and Lily Potter with a passion. They've rubbed me the wrong way for years with how they've treated Max…my sweet super Max, but tonight takes the icing off the cake. How can they act like Max is the one in the wrong? I'll get the full rundown of what happened tonight from her at some point, she's too exhausted to tell us much now.
I just want her to be happy, is that so much to ask world? For my amazing Super Maxie to be happy and in love and to be able to be herself all the time? Maybe I should push Mum and Dad into offering a place for Max to stay permanently with us.
Oh sounds like she's finished her bath, go to go…write soon I guess?
Chloe