"Max! Earth to Max!"Andrea called, waving a hand in front of my eyes.
"Huh?"I asked, startled.
"I was just telling you how my apparently perfect sister almost got expelled!"she exclaimed excitedly.
"You know, I'm not too surprised. It was obvious she had something for him"Poppy said.
"What? What happened?"I asked, trying to sound confused, even though I saw what happened.
"Well, Percy Weasley went to report his older brother Bill to the Headmaster, because he caught him and Penny snogging!"Andrea exclaimed. "And Dumbledore actually called my parents! I never saw them so mad before! But they discussed it, and she's getting detention for the rest of the year and all Hogsmeade trips banned!"
"Wait, Max, weren't you with Percy that night?"Poppy asked suspiciously.
I shrugged like it was nothing. "Yeah, but I barely saw anything because Percy started screaming. Anyways, is Professor Weasley getting expelled?"
"No, and that's the thing I don't understand"Andrea said, confused. "I thought it was against the rules to have an affair with a student"
"You are quite correct"Poppy said. I sight and take a deep breath of the cold air of January. No one was outside right now, except for a few aurors. It's only been a few days since that night, and I couldn't get that moment out of my head. For the first time ever, I skipped the first class of Ancient Runes, because I couldn't face him. A few times he tried to approach me in the hallways, but I always found ways to avoid him. However, it can't always go like this. I'll have to attend his class some day.
"Hello ladies"came a male voice, and I turned to see Henry Clearwater coming to our direction.
"Henry! Is mum and dad still here?"Andrea asked.
"No, they left a couple hours ago. They wanted me to wish you a good return to school, and hope you don't follow your sister's foot"He seemed quite disappointed in Penelope as he lets out a low sight. "I'm not too surprised that Penny did something like that, but it's Bill that really surprised me"
"Why do you say that?"I questioned him.
"Because, it's nothing like his usual behaviour. In school, he was good, never broke any rules. And when I saw him on the train, he told me he finally found someone that he thinks might be the one. Now, if it was my little sister, he would've told me, but it wasn't. It was someone else"
"Wait, so he cheated on his girlfriend?"Poppy gasped.
"Seems like it"Henry said. "And that's why it shocked me when I learnt about it. Because the Bill I know wouldn't of ever done that" We were all quiet for a few minutes. I processed this information. I wondered who this special girl was. A part of me wished it was me, but I knew better then to get my hopes up.
"Alright, well, we better get back in Henry, it's starting to get cold"Andrea said.
"Wait a minute Andrea, I have something to ask your pretty friend"he said, glancing at me. I felt myself blush.
"I told you to stop flirting with her!"Andrea snapped annoyed.
"Max"he said, completely ignoring his little sister. "Will you go to Hogsmeade with me at the end of the month?"
"Uh, like, a date?"I asked, confused.
"Yeah, you can call it that"he smirked.
I felt all eyes on me and blushed even more. I thought of saying no, that I was in love with someone else. But reality hit me, and I knew that chance with Bill was long gone.
"Alright"I smiled back. "It's a date"
--
"I cannot BELIEVE you are going on a date with MY older brother!"Andrea said for the millionth time in the last couple weeks. We were walking out of the castle, making our way towards Hogsmeade.
"C'mon baby, let her be. This is her first chance with a guy, ever"Tony said, putting an arm around her waist and pulling her closer. She huffed but finally gave in. Poppy was a bit further in front of us, her hand holding her boyfriend's.
"You're right. Just tell me if he does anything weird though Max. So I can beat him up. Or tell my mum"
I chuckled. "Alright Andrea"
Henry was waiting for me at the entrance of Hogsmeade, with a bouquet of roses.
"For you"he said, handing them to me.
"Oh, thank you"
"Shall we go?" He offered me his arm, which I took, and we started making our way down the alleys of this town.
"Do you want to go eat somewhere?"he asked, breaking the silence. My stomach grumbled, giving him my answer and he laughed. He directed me to The Hog's Head. We went in, and my stomach dropped. A big crowd of teachers were sitting at a booth, Bill included with them. This is the first time I saw him out of class. His eyes shot up when they saw me, and his eyes travelled from me, to my arm around Henry's. His ears turned a dark pink shade, but I didn't care at that point.
"Let's go sit over there"I told Henry, pointing to a table far away from Bill.
"Anything you say"He said, and once we got to our table, he pulled the chair out so I could sit. He then proceeded to take my coat off and hanging it up beside us.
"Wow, aren't you the gentleman"I said, laughing.
"It's just having good manners"he replied, winking. I saw Bill still looking at us, and took Henry's hand across the table, and squeezed it. The waitress came and took our orders (I took some eggs and toast with a cappuccino, and Henry took the sausage platter with a large cup of black coffee).
"So, tell me a little bit more about yourself"I said, smiling, and Henry grinned, delighted. He told me how he was 22, going on 23, so the same age then Bill, and also 4 years older then me. He told me that he was also a Ravenclaw in Hogwarts, and played beater on the Quidditch team. Once graduated, he took a few years off to travel with friends and his older brother, and then he proceeded to do Auror training, and it was only him and another girl, Tonks, that graduated in their year. He's only dated a few girls, Tonks included, but it never came up to anything.
"Wait, why are you telling me that detail?"I asked.
"Because, I want to have a relationship that will lead to something"Henry said, as breakfast was put in front of us. We were silent for a while, as I chewed on the food and sipped on my cappuccino.
"What about you? I don't know much about you, except that you're my little sister's best friend, you're smart, gorgeous, and the daughter of Sirius Black"
"Well, there's not much to say"I said, shrugging.
"Aw, c'mon. I'm sure there's more to Maxine Black then that. What's your favourite colour?"
"Purple"I answered.
"Favourite food?"
"Pumpkin pastries"
"Favourite Quidditch team?"
"Montrose Magpies"
"See! There's lots more to you then you think"he said, smiling. I couldn't help but smile back, a warm feeling spreading through me. He was so nice, and sweet. He payed for our breakfast, and we got up to leave. He then noticed Bill Weasley and he froze.
"Give me a second"he muttered, and he stomped over. I stood there, shocked, before rushing after him.
"Weasley! Hey, Weasley!"Henry snapped, and Bill got up, looking startled.
"Henry, hey"he said.
"Don't Henry hey me! What the hell were you thinking, letting my little sister get to you like that!"
"Henry, it wasn't my fault, it was-"Bill started but Henry cut him off.
"I don't want to know Bill. I just thought we were friends. Or at least that we respected each other. But I have no respect for you anymore, not after what you did with Penny"
"Well, I can't say I have much respect for you either, since you're going out with my-.. with a student"he said, stopping mid sentence, looking very angry. I raised an eyebrow at him.
"She's 18. And I don't teach here. So it's perfectly fine. What you did though, was not!"Henry said, almost yelling. The pub went silent.
"Henry, if you would just let me explain-"
"I don't want to hear your bullshit excuses. I have nothing left to say to you. C'mon Max, let's go"Henry said, and he grabbed my hand, dragging me out of the pub. Before we left however, I took one last glance back, and for the first time, I saw a mournful look in Bill Weasley's eyes.