A prank war is all it takes for a wild and carefree Gryffindor to change an isolated Hufflepuff's perspective on life and teach her that they are more alike than she thinks.
Companion books:
- Other Eyes (Ginny Weasley)
- Gravity (Percy Weasley)
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Much like most of the students in her year, along with the few older and younger ones, Maxine had always found the first night at Hogwarts rather boring. After experiencing her own sorting five years prior, she felt little to no excitement watching nervous eleven year olds nearly pee themselves as Professor McGonagall put the sorting hat on their heads.
The only thing that Maxine had been anticipating for was the Hogwarts Welcoming Feast. She liked food, but she loved the endless options set out in front of her that would help calm her nerves for the upcoming day of classes.
Aside from the Dementor roaming the train on the journey to Hogwarts, things began to slowly fall into routine. Maxine, Heidi, and Tamsin walked side by side to a carriage that would escort them to the edge of castle grounds and they continued to talk about their hopes for the year just as they did every other year.
When the carriage slowly passed the first years climbing into boats accompanied by the Gamekeeper, Hagrid, Heidi groaned. "Watch, they're all going to end up being Hufflepuff's this year," she rolled her blue eyes and slouched against her seat. "We'll be stuck showing a bunch of spoiled brats how to get into the common room over and over again."
"If I remember correctly," Tamsin reached out and poked Heidi's cheek, "you had to be shown at least a dozen times how to get in during your first week. So I wouldn't be talking."
Grumbling out a responce, Heidi kicked her leg out at Tamsin. She ended up making sharp contact with Maxine's knee instead. The two gasped at the same time, Maxine in pain and Heidi in surprise. While Maxine slowly began to breathe out profanities at her friend, Tamsin shook her head.
"And this is why violence is never the answer, Blondie."
The carriage ride went slowly, as it usually did. As the wheels turned and trees slowly passed them by, Maxine had her eyes focused on the space in front of them. No one else, or at least no one else to Maxine's knowlege, seemed to be curious about what in Merlin's name was pulling them to the castle.
In her second year, she had asked her brother about it. After he responded with a "go away, I'm with my friends" she asked Tamsin and all the other third years she knew. But each one of them gave her the same answer; they had no idea and frankly, they didn't care.
As they they neared the castle, Maxine forgot about the fact that she was curious about what pulled the carriage and thought about her first night at Hogwarts when she was eleven.
Unlike every other first year, Maxine certainly didnt have doubts about what house she was going to be in. Her mother was a Hufflepuff. and carried that title with pride. Her father on the other hand, Maxine had no idea who he was. After Gavin wrote home his first year informing the family that he had made the Badger house, Maxine knew that that was the house she was going to be in.
