It Was Always You

Maxine yawned and stretched, smiling to herself at the fact that it must have already been nearly eleven o’clock and she hadn’t gotten out of bed yet. It was Saturday and she’d made it through her first week of school with little energy remaining at the end. She knew, of course, that it was her own doing; she was taking seven N.E.W.T. level classes. She almost envied Fred and George, as they were only taking three, but since she still wasn’t quite sure what she wanted to do once she finished school, she knew she had to keep her options open.

As Maxine sat up, she noticed Angelina and Alicia were gone, as well as Lauren and Beth, whom she didn’t speak with as much. She nearly jumped out of her skin when someone knocked on the dormitory door. She climbed out of bed and shivered as the cold air hit her.

“Who is it?” She asked with one hand on the doorknob.

“It’s Hermione,” was the muffled reply. Maxine reached up and attempted to fix her hair before opening the door.

“Hello,” Maxine stated awkwardly. “Can I, erm, help you?”

“I’m supposed to give you this,” Hermione replied, smiling brightly as she handed over a small rolled up piece of parchment. “Good luck.”

Maxine furrowed her brows in confusion as she watched Hermione head off in the direction of the common room. Good luck? Shrugging, she shut the door and began walking toward her bed as she unrolled the parchment, recognizing George’s handwriting immediately. It read:

Maxine,
Today is a day that deserves to be celebrated for one simple reason. Do you know what that reason is?

(Of course she did, and she felt her stomach churning with nerves as she realized the twins had something planned)

It’s September sixth, also known as your birthday! Fred and I know how much you hate it when we make a huge deal of it, so naturally we’ve planned something even better than last year! We just need to embarrass you enough to make up for how much you’re going to rub our noses in the fact that you’re of age before we are! Just follow the directions and you’ll be alright!

Gred & Forge.

P.S. Go to the room where we first met.

Maxine read the note through and let out an exasperated groan. What had they done this time? Last year they’d set off fireworks at dinner (which, thankfully, Dumbledore found quite amusing), so what could possibly be better than that? (And by better, she meant more embarrassing). After a few minutes of pondering, she realized that they would probably be waiting for her, so she quickly dressed in jeans, a red t-shirt, and a black zip-up sweatshirt before heading down the common room.

“It’s empty,” She muttered to herself. “This is…odd….” She re-read the directions, to be sure of what it said, and thought back to her first year at Hogwarts. When had she met the twins? It wasn’t at the feast, so it must have been the following day in classes…but what class was first? “Transfiguration…”

She set out at a quick pace, eager for this whole thing to be done and over with. Maxine hated attention; she’d much rather stand behind the twins as they soaked it all up. When she arrived in the room, she hesitated before entering, almost afraid of what she might find. However, she found nothing out of the ordinary.

Professor McGonagall, who was looking over that weeks’ assignment, looked up and smiled. “Hello Maxine. How was your summer?”

“Um, pleasant, thank you.” She stood awkwardly, unsure of what to do next. “Did Fred and George… I mean…have they been here?”

“They have,” McGonagall responded, her smile growing. McGonagall had always been fond of Maxine, though she suspected this was due to the amount of house points she won ever year from answering questions in class. McGonagall opened a desk drawer and pulled out a piece of parchment and held it out for Maxine to take. “You’d best get moving or you’ll be late.”

“Late for what?” Maxine asked, hopeful. As a response, McGonagall simply gestured toward the parchment before returning to her reading.

Cedric Diggory is a git.

Maxine stared at the sentence on the parchment. What was that supposed to tell her? She searched her memory for something, anything. He was a Hufflepuff, also in her year, who she’d had fancied slightly in her fourth year. The only reason Fred and George knew about it was because they’d found her crying when she’d seen him holding hands with a girl on their way to…potions…

She thanked Professor McGonagall before quickly heading off in the direction of the dungeons. Of course, they could have picked a better clue, but they probably just wanted another excuse to express their dislike for him. She’d only reached the stairs when she nearly ran straight through-

“Sir Nicholas!” She stated, clutching a hand to her chest as she looked up at the Gryffindor ghost.

“Didn’t mean to frighten you, Miss Wood,” He chuckled. “I was told that today is your birthday.”

“Yes, it is,” She nodded. “I’m actually trying to find my present at the moment, so if you don’t mind I’ll-”

“Go to the seventh floor,” Sir Nicholas interrupted, “And you will find what you are searching for.”

Before she could ask anymore questions, Sir Nicholas was gone. She took a moment to re-gather her thoughts, as the day had been going in a direction that she could have never planned on. Furthermore, she hadn’t seen any of her friends in the halls to talk about it with.

She shoved the two pieces of parchment, the one from George and the one from McGonagall in her pocket, and took the stairs going upwards instead of down towards the dungeon. Her patience completely gone now, she took the stairs two at a time and found herself out of breath as she reached the seventh floor. She walked down a few corridors, unsure of what to expect, before someone called her name.

“Maxine, there you are!” She spun on her heels to spot Neville Longbottom, a fourth year Gryffindor jogging toward her. “I wanted to talk to you.”

“Um, now’s not a good time, Neville,” She stated, trying her best to be polite. “Unless you’ve got a piece of parchment or something to give me…?”

“Parchment? No…” Neville gave her an odd look before shrugging. “We can walk and talk, if you’re going somewhere…”

Unable to say no to him, as he was one of the nicest boys she’d known, she agreed and the two set off. “So, I was talking to Madame Sprout the other day, and she mentioned that you were rather good at Herbology as well.”

“I suppose I’m alright,” Maxine replied modestly, keeping her eyes open for any sign of Fred or George.

“Well, she thought that we could help her out later today. She has some mandrakes to re-pot.”

Neville had stopped walking and she turned around. “As much as I would love to do that,” She responded, slightly emphasizing the truth, “I’m sort of trying to find something.”
“I know,” Neville nodded, “But I think it’s back the other way…”

“What…? How do you…?”

“Just follow me…” He turned and walked the other direction. “Are you thinking about it? What you want to find?”

“Yes…” She responded, slightly confused.

“Actually, I think it’s the other way,” Neville said suddenly, before turning and going back. Trying not to get frustrated, Maxine turned and followed him. He did this four more times, and just as she was about to say something, something caught her eye.

Maxine’s eyes opened in awe as a door began forming in the wall that had been bare minutes ago. As if reading her mind, Neville spoke. “It’s the Room of Requirement,” He grinned. “Sorry about all the Herbology stuff, but…I still hadn’t come up with a plan yet, and well, it’s my go-to subject when I don’t know what else to talk about.”

Maxine simply nodded in response, unable to form words at the moment. She was awakened from her thoughts by Neville’s voice once more.

“You should, er, probably go in…”

“Right,” Maxine nodded. She glanced at Neville, who smiled at her encouragingly, before stepping forward and placing a hand on one of the large door handles. With a deep breath, she pulled it open.