So Be It
Lunch was a simple affair for Max. She didn’t talk at all through it, instead letting Steph and Chloe head the conversation. Every once in a while, Kate would glance at her in a slightly concerned way. Max ignored it.
And then she and Kate had a runes class. Which was pretty boring, this time. Well, as boring as any class taught by Mr. Keaton could be. There wasn’t a practical lesson this time. Just a long, long lecture.
And then a free block, which Max took to study Arithmancy. Her head was starting to hurt ten minutes in. By the end of the hour, the letters on the page were blurring and she felt like her brain was going to slip out of her ears.
Her mind wasn’t focused at all when she went to Divination class. She started recording notes - when she glanced down, she had absentmindedly jotted some random text in the margins of her notes. Chloe and Jefferson’s names, a spinning time turner, and the word ‘date’ over and over again. She wasn’t sure if it was the romantic kind, or the day of the month kind.
And that was the end of classes.
The rest of the day just… went by. Max felt like she was just going through the motions. Now she was eating. Now she was studying. Now she was talking to friends.
Going through the motions.
Her thumb tapped the top of her table erratically.
“Maxxie?”
She glanced up.
Chloe was standing in front of her, looking down with thinly-veiled concern.
“You alright?”
“Yep!” she said, instantly and instinctually.
Chloe silently raised her eyebrows. “Really? Because you didn’t have any chocolate eclair today. And I know it’s your favorite.”
“I wasn’t very hungry,” Max said, doing her best to smile. It felt wrong on her face.
Chloe stared at her silently.
“Well… okay,” she said eventually, peering at Max. “Just - if you need anything, you can come to me.”
“Okay,” Max said, giving Chloe a thumbs up and smiling a little bit wider.
Chloe, after a moment, leaned over to gently push on her shoulder with her fist, in an approximation of a punch. “Stay cool, Maxi-Pad.”
“Will do, cap’n,” she said.
And Chloe left.
Something deep in Max’s stomach unravelled the moment Chloe was gone. She let out a breath - and a tightness in her chest softened.
She was attracted to Chloe.
She was a dark witch.
She was a time traveler.
...Just three days ago, everything had been normal.
And now...
Now.
She could barely think. Barely manage coherency.
She was unravelling.
Her hand gripped her wand with startling accuracy, and gently pulled it out of her pocket.
“...Avada Kedavra,” she murmured under her breath, pointing her wand at the ground.
The bright green spell touched something deep inside her.
Her head fell back. Her eyes closed.
The killing curse.
An unforgivable.
But…
It felt very good to cast.
(Dark magic isn’t a moral classification. Just a legal one.)
She flipped her wand casually in her hand, and wondered just when everything in her life had become so… disjointed.
“So - this is Webster!”
Brooke stared.
“Kate… that is an acromantula,” she said, voice long-suffering.
“I know! Isn’t he pretty?” she cooed, glancing at Webster and smiling.
“He… hm,” Brooke said, kneeling. “I suppose he’s… not the ugliest thing in the world. He’s certainly got nice eyes.”
Webster gently tilted his head, pincers clicking.
“Can he understand me?” Brooke said, unsure whether to be concerned or not.
Kate shrugged. “I dunno. But I act like he can, just in case! I wouldn’t want to be rude. How about it Webster - can you understand us?”
Webster didn’t react.
Brooke hummed thoughtfully under her breath.
“...Well,” she said, standing, “he’s certainly something. But we should get going. Dinner is going to start in just a few minutes.”
“I’ll catch up with you,” Kate said, waving her off. “I wanna spend a little more time with Webster. Maybe draw him! Bring us back some food, would you?”
Brooke wasn’t sure whether to be concerned by the us label or not.
The next day was pretty standard. Well - pretty standard for everyone who didn’t have to time travel.
Brooke woke up to the promising proposition of a potions block. Bowers was in a very tired mood - which meant getting him angry was a risky move, but until then he was fairly calm. And then she had a double History block with Max, who looked… out of it, for most of the lesson.
It was only after noticing this that she also noticed that Max didn’t say a word during lunch.
Her first Transfiguration block of the year was with Kate, who said that Max had attended her last Transfiguration class. When asked which block it was, Kate swore it had been first block yesterday - despite the fact that Max had attended a Herbology class with Brooke during that block. Brooke remembered it distinctly, because they had been harvesting bubotuber pus, and Max had nearly gotten a faceful at some point. Which had been very concerning, because it would’ve sent her straight to the hospital wing.
During their classes, they didn’t have the chance to see Max attending her DADA block, and doing very well indeed. The curse Jefferson had given them for that class to learn had come very easily to Max.
They also didn’t get to see Nathan Prescott glancing up at Max every now and again.
They did get to try the curse themselves in their very next block, which happened to be DADA. Once again, it was just Kate and Brooke, which meant they didn’t have a chance to talk to Max.
The curse they were assigned was incredibly hard for both of them. By the end of class, Brooke had managed it once on what seemed like a fluke - which was about one time more than most of the other students could say. Most of them hadn’t even managed to get a spell that fizzled out.
And then - finally - the day was over. And Brooke and Kate could talk to Max about what was wrong.
Except, apparently, they couldn’t.
“I’m really sorry!” Kate said - and she really did look sorry. “But I almost forgot, I have a study session with a friend that I really can’t afford to not attend.”
“And this study session is more important than talking to Max?” Brooke said, raising an eyebrow.
Kate floundered. “Uhm… no, all of my friends are equally important! But missing a session with this particular friend could really mess up our whole relationship, so…”
“Kate, I don’t think you understand,” Brooke said - and did her best to make the words sharp and confident when she said, “I, can’t, do, this, without, you. I just don’t have the weird… friendship-sense thing that you have. Opening up to me would be like… spilling your life story to a Vulcan.”
Kate blinked. “...You know Star Trek?”
“Yes, I do,” Brooke said, “but that’s not the point. The point is, if you don’t come with - this. Will. Fail.”
“Don’t be so hard on yourself!” Kate said - and smiled that smile. The one Brooke couldn’t have said no to if someone had put a gun to her head. “I’m sure you’ll do great. Just try your best, okay?”
“...Kate…” she said, trying really hard to grapple back the iron-clad confidence that was now slipping away from her.
And Kate whipped out the puppy-dog eyes. “Please? I really can’t afford to miss this session.”
And, really, Brooke didn’t have a chance.
“...Fine.”
“Yes!” she cheered, leaning forward to pull Brooke into a quick, tight hug. Brooke’s mouth went dry. “ThankyousomuchI’llmakeituptoyoupinkypromiseokaybyenow!”
And, with that, Kate dashed off towards the library.
“...Bye,” Brooke muttered under her breath.
...Well. Apparently she was doing this alone.
So be it.