Chapter 8: chapter 8

The rest of the evening passes, with the few remaining Gryffindors still at Hogwarts over Christmas playing Gobstones or Wizard Chess in the Common Room. I’m curled up in a chair near the fire, reading through a worn copy of Hogwarts: A History, taking peeks at my nails and smiling as I turn the pages. Ron’s dozing on the battered, overstuffed couch, a half-eaten biscuit in one hand, as Harry reads and re-reads the note from his invisibility cloak. Judging by his expression, it’s not telling him anything new. I let out a yawn, and close my book, slipping out of my seat and heading for the stairs. Angelina’s on her way down, and stops me.

“Ah, perfect timing. I wanted to talk to you, if you have a minute?”

I swallow, and then nod. “S-sure… what’s the problem?”

Taking me gently by the elbow, Angelina guides me to the foot of the stairs… to the girls’ dorm.  I panic a little. I don’t want to, but I do at the same time, but I couldn’t take it if the worst happened. Angelina leans in and murmurs, “I overheard you and Hermione, just before Christmas. I should apologize. It wasn’t my intention, but I think I can at least make it up to you by helping you. I think these stairs are a little… unconventional. I did a little reading, and there have actually been a couple of recorded incidents where a male student managed to just walk straight up. It was only later that they came out as trans. So… go ahead, girlie. Take the plunge.”

With Angelina’s hand on my shoulder, I turn to face the stairs once again. If this isn’t just some sick prank at my expense, I might be able to…

I take one step. Two, three. Four. Five, six, seven. Eight. The stairs don’t even so much as creak. Nine. Ten. Eleven, twelve, and… I’m standing at the door to the girl’s dormitory. Angelina smiles, still at the bottom of the stairs.

Climbing up to meet me, she holds her hand up for a high-five. “Awesome! See, I knew it’d work! You’re a girl, just like me, and Hermione, and all the rest!”

I gently return her high-five, blushing as she winks. “Now, I think I’ll have to do some more research, since those records were missing a little bit of information, but, for now, I’ll keep this our little secret. It’s nice to meet the REAL you… Maxine.”

She turns and heads back to the main floor of the Common Room. A few more seconds, and I dart back down and hurry stealthily up to the boys’ dorm-room. I spend half the night awake, trying to get over the bubbling excitement in my chest. The girls’ stairs didn’t go all slide-y, I could walk up them just fine! I AM A GIRL!

Ron snores softly in his bed on the other side of the room, but I don’t notice Harry coming to bed. Yes, he’d been in his pyjamas, but he’d not come up. However, as unusual as the whole situation is, I’m too focussed on more personally-important things to really give Harry’s lack of sleep my full attention.

When I wake up, however, there he is, fast asleep, as if he’d been there all night. Huh. Maybe he’d gotten caught up in some reading or something? It wasn’t THAT strange for a student to spend most of a night down in the Common Room, catching up on their homework, after all.

I dress quickly and head down for breakfast while the castle’s still quiet. A couple of ghosts, a few wandering students, and Hagrid are the only ones around at this early hour. Mini bounds after me, having spent most of yesterday sleeping, and I pick her up, cradling her as I rub her huge ears fondly.  She lets out a quiet yip and snuggles into my arms.

After breakfast, I head for the library, and settle into a routine, hunting for anything that mentions Nicholas Flamel. There HAS to be something on him here. I don’t want to let my friends down, not after all the kindness they’ve given me…

Unfortunately, even by lunchtime, I haven’t found a single trace of anything on Nicholas Flamel. Dispirited, I take my food outside to the courtyard, Mini trotting at my heels. Perching on one of the seats, I bite into my sandwich, cracking a raw egg for my Fennec fox to lap up. The fresh air lifts my spirits, and I see the Ravenclaw girl from the snowball fight. She’s wandering across the yard, making a strange pattern in the snow as she moves.

I watch her curiously, Mini nudging my hand for pets, finishing my sandwich as I fluff her fur affectionately. The girl has stopped and is now staring at me, her wide, almost vacant-looking eyes seeming to focus on me somehow. Her long, loose hair shifts in the light breeze.

After about a minute of unbroken eye-contact, the girl turns and resumes her slow, deliberate pace, disappearing inside. Angelina passes her on the way out, waving at me. “Hey, here you are! Ron and Harry were looking for you; they’re in the library now.”

I smile. “Hey, Angelina, thanks. I was about to head back inside, anyway. It’s cold out here!”

She chuckles, “tell me about it! I love it though. Cold weather always makes me feel clearheaded and calm.” I giggle, and she gasps.

“Merlin’s beard! Your voice!”

I gulp, realising that I’d been instinctively using my femme voice without meaning to. “Y-yeah… sorry, I slipped into it without thinking…”

“No, no! It’s perfect! Almost as cute as you!” she smiles and closes one eye in a friendly wink. I splutter and turn beetroot, causing Angelica to cackle and pull me into a hug. “God, you’re adorable! It’s like I have a little sister!” she grins, and I can’t help but smile back.

I eventually free myself from Angelina’s affectionate embrace, and brush my hair back, blushing. “Mean!” I pout, before giggling, as Mini bats at a loose thread hanging from my robes. Picking up my lunch plate and brushing loose crumbs into the flowerbed, I head inside, accompanied by the Gryffindor chaser girl.

Inside, it’s a bit warmer thanks to all the lit fireplaces. I return my plate to the Great Hall, thanking the invisible servants who clear everything up, heading for the library. Harry and Ron are there, buried in an avalanche of books and texts, with despairing looks on their faces.

 “Hi, guys. I was reading this in the courtyard. Angelica said you were here so I decided to join you.”

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Ron almost groans with relief as I take a seat and pull a few books over from the pile.

“Oh, that explains it. When we woke up, you’d already gone. Ah well, at least you’re not leaving us to do all this on our own. Even better, we have the library to ourselves! Everyone else went out to play in the snow some more, so you can relax and be yourself, Max.”

 I smile and feel myself slip into my real voice. “Thank you, Ron. I appreciate your concern for me!”

He blushes and buries his face in a book, muttering that it’s no trouble. I can’t help but notice he’s reading it upside-down. Harry coughs, and turns a few pages, studiously focusing. I open one of my own stack of tomes, leafing through for any mention of Nicholas Flamel, our mysterious clue from Hagrid, who’s taken great pains to not let anything else slip.

The afternoon passes slowly, and I stifle a few yawns as time wears on, while Harry begins to look more and more fidgety, as if he has somewhere to be. The bell rings, warning that the dinner hour is approaching, and I make a note of all the books we still haven’t touched.  They’ll be put away but someone else, or by magic. The three of us, as well as Mini, scamper for the Great Hall. Harry wolfs down his food, even putting Ron’s pace to shame, and I stare, a lot more delicate in my table manners. Spilled gravy or oversized forkfuls would often get me punished at home, so I’ve learned well.

After dessert, I head back up to the Gryffindor common room, carrying my sleeping Familiar in my arms, my book tucked away inside my robes. The common room is quiet, with a few students scattered around and occupied with trading Chocolate Frog cards, or playing minor magical pranks on each other.

I suspect Harry’s up to something. If he disappeared once, he might do it again. Possibly even tonight, judging by his behaviour today. I know it isn’t my business, but I’m still concerned that he’s going to get in trouble. I have a plan to find out.

The fire burns lower and softer as the night sets in, but I stay in the common room until everyone else is in bed. I change into my pyjamas, and then make it look as though I’ve gone to bed with the use of a comforter rolled into a tube and pulled-up covers, telling Mini to stay here and sleep, bribing her with a couple of crickets. Then, I sneak downstairs and take up position in one of the corners, ducking behind a shelf, where I can keep an eye on the back of the Fat Lady’s painting.

 

 

Sure enough, I hear the sounds of someone descending the stairs. Making sure I’m out of sight, I peek round. It might be any other student. But no, even as the footsteps get closer, there’s no sign of their source.  My hunch was right on the money. I wait until the footsteps pass, and then dart out and grab the invisible source. Instead, both Ron AND Harry tumble onto the floor as I tackle them.

Standing there, hands on hips, I huff, “Harry! I knew you were up to something when you never went to bed last night, and now you’ve dragged Ron into this? What is going ON?!” I reach down, helping them both up, with a little difficulty.

Harry looks sheepish, and Ron chuckles, “I told you, mate. She’s cleverer than us, she’ll know we’re up to something!” he rolls his eyes, his glasses glinting in the moonlight, and whispers, “I would have told you if you’d been upstairs with us this morning instead of scampering off to the library, but yeah. There’s something I have to show you! Come on!” he picks up his invisibility cloak and, as I join their huddle, he throws it over us. Concealed thusly, we make our way back to… “The library?” I whisper, and Harry nods. There’s a lock on the Restricted Section’s door, but I produce my wand. “Alohomora!”

The lock clicks, and we silently creep through, locking the door behind us to cover our tracks. All the way to the back, we sneak through the shelves until we reach a door, inconspicuous and almost hidden, behind a heavily-laden bookcase.  Harry pushes it open, and we slip in, shutting the door behind us.

“This is what I wanted to show you. Over here!” Dropping the cloak, Harry leads us over to a huge mirror, its ornate golden frame engraved at the top with strange words. I study them, but I’ve no idea what they mean… Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi?

Harry stands in front of it. “When I look into it, I can… I can see my parents. Look, can you see them?”

Ron steps up and peers over Harry’s shoulder. “Nah, mate. Just you.”

Harry moves aside. “No, stand in front of it properly! Try it!”

The redhead stares. “Whoa… I’m... I’m Head Boy! And I’m holding the Quidditch Cup! Blimey, AND I’m the Captain of the Quidditch team, too! D’you… d’you think it shows the future??”

Harry shakes his head. “My parents are dead. How could it show the future?”

The pair of them turn to face me. I take a step back, suddenly nervous. “Why… why are you looking at me like that?”

“Come and take a look. I saw my parents, Ron sees himself being a massive success… what do you see?” Harry asks, and I put two and two together. Stepping forwards, I position myself right in front of the mirror…

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