**Full disclosure before reading: back when I did do a few requests through my HP one-shot book, this was one of them. This was requested by xonceuponatimex many, many moons ago. Rereading it for editing brought me back to a time where her Max Potter books kept me hooked until the end. I'm picky when it comes to twin-trope books, this was one of the lucky series that had my attention.
If you happen to be rereading this, dear, it's mostly the same from its first time out on Wattpad. Enjoy all the same!**
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Things had been a bit rocky since the Battle of Hogwarts. Relationships either grew or broke. This applied to everyone. Both sides lost a numerous amount of people. People mourned over the loss of their friends.
Maxine Potter was no exception to this. She'd lost those whom she'd come to know very well, people she would never forget even after they'd been gone a long time.
She knew the holidays were going to be hell, being that some of her friends wouldn't be able to celebrate them with her. I can't think like that. Holidays are the time to grow closer with people, not to mourn over the dead. Focus, Max. It's the holidays, cheer up!
If only she could.
The atmosphere inside the Burrow had a fakeness to it. Though everyone carried on like nothing had happened, Max knew better than to buy into the happiness. She knew everything wasn't alright. She couldn't trick herself into believing things would get better. It would take a Christmas miracle for that to happen.
Christmas dinner had been surprisingly okay and not silent, like Max had expected it to be. With friendly chatter, the holiday seemed almost normal. Max thought back to him and where he was. She hadn't seen him since the Battle back in May. She'd wondered about him every day after, sometimes out of worry, sometimes out of hate. He'd fled the battlefield like a coward, just like his cowardly parents. It wasn't like she'd had any respect for him at the time; she'd lost it back in their sixth year at Hogwarts.
Negativity settled within Max, unsettling her greatly. She quietly excused herself from the cramped kitchen to slip out into the cold Christmas air. She saw her breath, instantly regretting to venture outside of the Burrow. But she couldn't disrupt everyone's happy time; they didn't deserve to be brought down by her.
Max looked to the sky with bright green eyes, her mother's eyes. It was starting to flurry. She rubbed her arms vigorously; she began to think that her dark brown hair was beginning to freeze where it lay on her head.
She heard the door open behind her, bathing her back in light from inside the Weasley home. The light disappeared as soon as it came, and Max heard someone approaching.
"What's wrong?"
Max grimaced. Naturally, Harry of all people would be the one to notice her abrupt exit out of the Burrow. Only Harry would be the first to go to her, to ask her what was going on. That's what brothers did.
