[W.Willow] The Tip of the Iceberg

[Girty Hubbles]

The Hufflepuff commonroom was busy, the sounds laughter and games of exploding snap echoed around the room and despite the fact that Girty was feeling in a relatively good mood she could not hear herself think! She was idly running her tongue over her teeth when there was another loud BANG and a small collection of ash floated down to land on her head. “That is it!” she shouted to anyone who cared to hear as she quickly brushed the ash out of her hair and off her jumper. With a frown at the group of second years who had been the cause of the ash fall she quickly picked up her bright yellow winter coat from the floor, wrapped her scarf around her neck and stormed out the common room.

The castle was quiet as the cold winter night was rolling in and all the inhabitants of the castle where either in their commonroom or the library doing some last minute homework. Girty however was going to do something else this evening, she first off fancied a bit of meat (nice and raw seeing as the moon was almost full) and then a wonder around the castle grounds. As always the house elves were quiet use to the unusual request for raw meat from this particular Hufflepuff and so where more then willing to get some wrapped up in some paper for her. And so, as a muggle would walk about the street eating a beef burger from fast food restaurant Girty was walking around the castle eating the burger which was uncooked and did not have the bun…perfectly normal!

As she walked through the castle grounds the light evening breeze blew causing Girty to pull her collar of her coat up closer to her face. Her legs seemed to be automatically carrying her in one direction and with a small sigh she could not help but grin as the whopping willow came into view. It was only as she took another huge bite out of her chunk of meat did Girty realise that she was not alone. At first she thought it was the enchanted tree simply moving around bating some birds away from its branches but it was soon clear it was the sound of someone moving across the ground.

Bending down Girty slowly reached for her long sock, tugging it down slightly as she pulled her wand out, tightly holding onto it as she straightened back up, ready to defend herself, or even…attack!

[Max Hennerdale]

It was quite late by now as Max sat bored in the library trying to plough through the homework pile he'd let creep up on him again. Dinner was long over with, and Max had decided to skip it owing to the fact he had so much work to do. Though unfortunatly for him his stomach was growling loudly, and intensly, making it very uncomfortable and painful for the Gryffindor to actually concentrate or do much more than tap the tip of his quill on the desk. Because of his tapping, groaning and his stomach grumbling in protest, he was getting some rather nasty glares coming from the librarian and before she decided to either yell at him or curse him into the oblivion, Max scooped up his books into his bag and fled from the library. Honestly, that woman could be damn scary sometimes.

He'd decided to drop his books back in the common room and have a chill out session, but unfortunatly for him the common room wasnt quite as emtpy as he'd like and Kieran and Bryn were doing a double act in the middle of it which kept causing the room to erupt in laughter on frequent occasions. They tried to get Max in on it but Max was too hungry and too anxious to really do much but sit down. Yet his legs were aching in a way that told him they'd much prefer to be walking around. His cousin Rieko was sitting in a corner with a mischievious glint in her eye that told him she was plotting something. Whoever that entailed he didnt envy. The little animagus could be quite the dangerous lady when she wanted to be.

GRUMBLE

He laughed sheepishly as Bryn and Kieran looked at him questioningly. "Hungry Max?" They laughed and Max rubbed his head gingerly. "Ravenous. I skipped dinner to finish the mountain of homework I had left." He made his excuses and exited back through the portrait hole, only to get abuse because she was wanting to continue her drinking fest with her friend. Max all but ran away from the fat lady, it seemed tonight he was either getting glared at or shouted at. Maybe he should have stayed in bed this morning. After a trip into the kitchens, arms laden with all the kind of food and drink he could possibly eat wrapped up in a basket, he made his way outside.

Donned in his thick black leather coat and red and gold scarf, he wandered onto the lawns. There was nobody around but he wanted some peace and quiet so he headed to the area where he knew nobody was stupid enough to go. The whomping willow. Though when he got there he saw the distinct outline of a girl waving a wand, clearly ready to attack him if he came too close. In the gloom he couldnt make out who it was, and he had no kind of special talent to be able to see them either. He chanced going closer. He knew that could have been dangerous, what if she attacked? So he said as lightly as he could. "I'm not a boogyman -- I mean you no harm." A smile tugged at his lips, and once he got closer he realised who it was.

"Girty?" Even his heart did a tiny flip, he hadnt seen her in what felt like forever. But the feelings he held for this girl hadnt wavered one bit, not that he thought it would. Girty was special in more ways than one, and remembering the past they had shared just made him long for her even more. He couldnt help it. He loved the girl. "I come bearing edibles and drinkables in a picnic basket. Want to help me munch through everything?"

God, she was seriously beautiful.

[Girty Hubbles]

Her grip on her wand was tight as she waited for the attack to come; she had been told that there was a danger lurking in the wizarding world now and being caught out in the dark alone would not be a wise thing. She held her breath as she heard the footsteps get closer and closer and just as she was about to spring around and hex the brut when she heard a familiar voice float to her ears. As soon as the recognition hit her a wide grin filled her face and as she lowered her wand she turned around to see the new arrival. “Max” she muttered under her breath as she dropt everything in her hands and ran right over to the Gryffindor wrapping her arms tightly around his neck.

Just being this close to him made her heart beat faster, she could not quiet find the words as they seemed to get lost in her throat. Pulling away from their embrace the Hufflepuff studied the blond haired boys face as he talked. Her eyes were glued to his lips, watching how every word was formed and all she wanted to do was press hers against his like they had done that night many moons ago. In fact she was so engrossed in her thoughts that she did not even really register what he had spoken and it was only after a couple of seconds of silence that it twigged in her head.

“Oh…yeah I would love to.” She turned back and looked over at the small package of raw meat that was now lying on the ground. “That sounds nice Max.” She could not take the wide grin off her face, it did not just sound nice, and it sounded perfect! It would have been amazingly romantic to sit down under the stairs and have a picnic with Max…just the mere thought of it caused butterfly’s to fill her stomach and suddenly the thought of eating seemed impossible without being sick.

“S-so have you b-been up to much recently Max?” Girty has no idea where the nerves had come from and the stutter as a matter of fact but she was just glad of the darkness as it would help hide the slight blush that had crept across her cheeks. She felt as giddy as a school girl when around Max and her biggest fear was that it showed.

[Max Hennerdale]

"Hey to you too!" He laughed, relieved she wasnt about to attack him, also relieved she wasnt annoyed as his interruption. She wrapped her arms around his neck, tightly, almost as though she didnt want to let him go. Not that he minded in the slightest. Having her in his arms brought on so many different emotions to the blonde haired Gryffindor. The scent of her shampoo was intoxicating and he couldnt help breathing in deeply, almost as though he wanted to hold that scent forever. The two had barely touched since that night, Max was beginning to feel as though she thought it had been one huge mistake, and so not to give him a false impression she'd made minimal contact with him. He'd come to the conclusion she didnt feel the same way about him that he felt about her. But hugging her now, holding her... how could he not want her? After everything they'd been through together in the past, they'd shared their first kiss in the three broomsticks in front of loads of spectators. Of course at that time it was all just in good fun. Yet still, Max couldnt help, even then, liking it a bit too much.

He reluctantly let her go when she spoke and ran a hand through his hair nervously, to try to calm himself down. What was wrong with him? It was Girty for crying out loud! One of his oldest and dearest friends! Sure he loved her in a way more than friends, but he shouldnt let that stop him from being normal, and casual around her. Yet his body language was off, it was forced, stiff... awkward. So was hers, and her voice, he notes, was a bit unsteady as she spoke. Clearly she too felt awkward, maybe she hadnt wanted to be caught alone with Max like this. Shame really, even if being friends was all she wanted, he'd be okay with that. Right?

"Well good!" He spoke a bit too cheerful as he bent down and flipped open the basket, pulling out a patch-work blanket and putting it on the floor. "There's too much here for just one person. So... yeah." He finished lamely and sat down, eyes on the basket as though willing the contents to jump out on their own. When they didnt, he settled for doing it himself, pulling out the jug of pumpkin juice and glasses, which was miraculous it hadnt spilt in all honesty. There was every variety of sandwich imaginable plus nibbles like sausage rolls, pork pies, breadsticks and dips, among other things. And all the cakes you could imagine.

Hmm.. this isnt normal... are those house elves setting me up? He wondered to himself. A picnic, full of everything designed for a picnic. Clearly enough for two and there was even bits of raw meat which Max knew he wouldnt eat, but found it fitting for the werewolf. Damn those elves are sneaky little buggers. "Oh you know... school... mainly school. I let my work pile up again. Havent been out since--" He almost touched upon that night and quickly shut up, flushing a very deep red and looking quickly down at the quilt. "Well... for a while."

"What about you?"

[Girty Hubbles]

It seemed such a bizarre situation to find herself in; here she was by the Whopping Willow about to have a star light picnic with Max. She could not help but inwardly smile as it was turning out to be quiet the romantic situation to have found herself in. Of course although she was smiling inwardly her face betrayed her and her could not help but become the old, lacking in confidence Girty Hubbles. Even as she simply stepped backwards to give Max more room she stepped on the hem of her trousers and lost her balance and had to lamely wave her arms in the air in an attempt to stay on her feet. She could only pray that Max was too busy putting the patchwork blanket on the floor to notice!

With a nervous, quiet laugh Girty ran her hand through her long brown hair and tried to regain her composure before attempting to communicate with Max again. The picnic that he had come along with seemed to have lot of food within its wicker case and for the briefest of moments Girty thought Max had set it all up…but then why would he do that? After all how would he have known where she was? Snapping from this train of thought Girty decided to break the silence and ask a question, no matter how stupid it sounded, or in fact how stupid it made her sound. “Were you hungry or something?”

It was one of those situations that after talking all that passed through her mind was not only how stupid the question sounded but how stupid her voice was and how if she could change anything in the world how she would stop herself from sounding so much like an idiot. Swallowing hard as if trying to get rid of the sound Girty decided to focus on Max listening to what he had to say. Apparently he also was finding it difficult to find the right words and he too was uncharacteristically stuttering and putting sentences together. Had that night together really affected their relationship that much?

“Oh, me?” Well who else would he be talking too? With a quick shake of the head she tried to forget that she had even said that and started all over again. “Dan is keeping me busy, so is Professor Potter and well…” Her gaze passed up to the almost silver orb that hung in the night sky. She did not think the rest of her sentence needed to be finished, Max knew her well enough to know what she was thinking. Most women hated a certain time of the month due to other reasons, or her ‘fluffy’ problems as her mother so simply called it.

With a small smile she sat down on the blanket, making sure she did not see too close to Max and peered into the basket that Max had propped open to see what was inside. “What would you suggest baby…wait…erm….” Her cheeks checks turned bright red as she nervously looked around and for the briefest of moments even contemplated standing up and walking away. But something made her stay, the thought of leaving Max, even in this embarrassing situation was just a little bit too painful.

She really had fallen for him. Hard!

[Max Hennerdale]

Max couldn’t have planned this better if he had planned it. Damn those house-elves. Just because they cleaned up after them did it mean they had to pry into their personal lives as well? Max was worried about their entire situation, not only was he in love with a werewolf, but he was in love with a werewolf who happened to be the headmasters sister. Max knew Dan was awfully protective over his sister, not to mention Professor Luke Hubbles was also very protective of her. Max was worried by the end of the week if either found out whether he’d have any limbs left. Not to mention his work for Dan had taken a dip. Still, Max wasn’t entirely sure why he’d taken Muggle Studies. He’d lived around muggles all his life, he already knew how the inside of a plug worked. Once he’d gotten the blanket set up, he began to get all the food and drinks out and set them in the middle of the blanket. He didn’t notice Girty’s flail, but even if he had he’d have pretended he didn’t. For her own sanity. He looked at her when she asked if he was hungry, he slightly laughed. ”Yeah I skipped dinner. But I didn’t expect this much just a little nibble would have been nice. Clearly those house elves had something else in mind.”

Max looked up at her, for the briefest of moments he held her gaze before looking away again. He couldn’t help thinking, even if she did like him, which he was sure she didn’t, was he the right one for her? Sure, he was a Gryffindor and by law brave and all that, but she knew his track record on relationships and none of them had ended well. Hers, true, wasn’t much better. Max hadn’t felt this strongly about anyone before. Yet he couldn’t help worrying that he’d end up hurting her and he knew she’d been hurt enough to last her a lifetime. Not to mention she’d become what seemed like, decent friends with Ricky and Max hated the guy. Wasnt he supposed to get along with her friends?

He listened as she spoke, her sentences were as choppy and awkward has his were. He sighed, he hated this. Forced conversation when things used to be so easy for them. Okay, yeah they’d shared a drunken night of passion, but it had happened and no matter what they both wanted, it could never un-happen. He tried to think positive, he wanted to believe they could go back to how they were but unless they spoke about that night he knew the air would never be clear between them. Yet he didn’t know how to start or what to say. He didn’t even know how to broach the subject. What could he say? Yeah we slept together, get over it? He frowned, no that sounded bad in his own mind. He couldn’t say that to her.

He looked up and saw the moon, it wasn’t full yet but it would be within the week. His blue eyes went a little sad. She had so much to deal with, it was a wonder she didn’t just keep herself locked up and pretend none of it was happening. Max didn’t think he’d be able to handle the pressure. ”Yeah... I guess you have a lot going on.” He looked back down, the moonlight to him was pretty, beautiful... but to Girty, it was a curse, a pain in the arse. Something she couldn’t look at when it was full and at its most beautiful and think that it was beautiful. It was a shame really. He wished she could see it like that.

”...” He looked up at her, questioningly again. Did she just call him baby? He smiled at her and pulled out a sandwich. ”I hear this is good.” His cheeks had gained a bit of colour too, not quite as much as hers had, which he found adorable. He raised a hand slowly and brushed it softly against her cheek. It was warm. He liked it.

”Girty... I think we need to talk... you know... about stuff.”

[Girty Hubbles]

If someone gave Girty the chance to change anything about the situation she now found herself in then the Hufflepuff would simply wave them away, it was perfect…well maybe she would have taken back the ‘baby’ that had somehow slipped out her mouth. Oh the embarrassment!

Max was sill attempting to make her feel even worse when he slowly reached over with his hand and gently brushed the side of her cheek. She could feel the shiver run down her spin, the tingling sensation that was left on her warm face from his touch and not forgetting the sensation of her stomach doing a dozen back flips as she could feel herself falling harder and faster then before.

They needed to talk about stuff? Such an eloquent way of putting it but still that little look on his innocent face (although she knew he was not that innocent) Girty could not take offence by such a statement. In fact it made her cheeks burn even more as she even thought about how on earth she was going to answer his question! Running her tongue over her dry lips the Hufflepuff racked her mind on what to say. She had been in a situation like this before with Alex…oh Alex, that really had not ended how she had imagined it…but then she was the one who had not said the words ‘I love you’ too him. There had just been a mental block when it came to looking him in the eyes and saying those three little words. But now, as they sat in the starlight with Max she felt like she could look him in the eyes and actually say those three little words.

She had fallen in love with her best friend!

“Okay.” Girty finally responded, her voice was a little hoarse from the emotion that was now coursing through her veins. “Wh-what do you want to talk about?” It was a stupid question to ask. Girty knew what topic was the one Max’s mind as well as hers but for some reason she just did not want to be the one to say it first in fear of that terrible feeling of rejection. Hufflepuff’s where not known for their courage and it was in this kind of situation where Girty needed her brave Gryffindor to take the lead and head them down the right path that could lead to, what she hoped, a happy relationship…that was of course if Max wanted the same thing as she did. Oh how she hoped he wanted the same thing that she did, she was not sure her heart would be able to take any more heartbreak!

[Max Hennerdale]

The last thing the Gryffindor wanted was to make Girty feel uneasy, but he knew unless they spoke about this subject they’d never get past it. He missed the way they used to be, how every conversation was easy. How they could both be exactly who they were around eachother without any awkwardness. Now it felt as though every conversation was strained, every action forced and every smile faked to make the other feel less awkward about their situation and Max didn’t like it. He wished they could go back to how they used to be, if they couldn’t be together he’d have to settle for their friendship. No matter what happened after this conversation, even if Girty didn’t feel the same way, he’d find a way to fix their friendship. If there was one thing he knew for certain, it was their friendship was too important to lose.

”About everything... what happened that night and... well how it’s affected us now.” He answered honestly, looking down at the picnic blanket. ”Plus there’s something I have to be honest with you about...” Max was going to tell her exactly how he felt, rip the plaster off with no anaesthetic. Sure, her reply could hurt him but it was something he had to get off his chest. The entire conversation could go either way, he knew that. He knew this situation was hard and that the circumstances were not usual between two good friends. How many best friends got absolutely plastered and slept together? Sure there were the odd few, and most likely they ended up in a similar situation they were in now.

”I don’t regret a single thing that happened that night. You should know that first.” He spoke, his voice quiet but he knew she could hear every word he said. ”I wouldn’t change it and if I had to go back, I wouldn’t make a single different choice.” He looked up at her, trying to read her face but apart from the faint flush across her cheeks, he couldn’t tell much more. He was no mind reader, he didn’t know what she was thinking, he didn’t know if he was broaching a subject she’d rather leave undisturbed but Max couldn’t ignore it anymore. He knew that. ”The thing is, ever since then we’ve been strained. Our friendship has gone down the drain and... well I don’t know about you but every conversation seems forced. Like we have to think about every little detail and I hate it. It never used to be like that. I miss us. Our laughs, the fun we used to have... now it just feels like its gone. Like that night ruined everything we were. But at the same time...” He paused, his brows furrowing. ”It opened up different doors for us... doors neither one of us would have ever thought we’d step through... with each other anyway.”

Max didn’t know where he was heading exactly, he just let the words come out, no matter how jumbled and confused they sounded. ”I know you’ve had your heart broken in the last year, and I hated seeing you like that... I also know that you’re going through a lot of stuff people wont understand too but... and I know I said I want to repair our friendship so me saying this is going to be completely selfish...” He picked up a chocolate bar and spun it between his hands, his eyes remaining focused on the floor. ”I like you... a lot... more than I should and more than you know.” He frowned again. ”Like isn’t the right word though... I feel stronger than that... Like I... well I guess I fell for you. Im sorry if its not what you want to hear and I understand completely if you don’t feel the same about me but... you had to know.”

[Girty Hubbles]

Girty was just going to have to brace herself. It was time for a serious talk and although she hoped to hope there was that niggling feeling in the bit of her stomach, a seed of doubt that had been planted during her relationship with Alex and had been growing more and more since their relationship had ended…was she capable of openly loving another. When it came to Max however, the doubts did not seem as strong, like some weed killed had come along and was fighting the growth of the plant, all she could hope that this conversation would kill the roots and it would never come back. However the way Max started the conversation the plant seemed to grow a little bit more, he was on about the night they had slept together…he could not even look at her when talking about it! ’He must regret it’ Girty thought painfully as she tried to keep her face calm and composed unlike the mad rush of emotions that was happening inside of her.

“I don’t regret a single thing that happened that night.”[/color]

She tried to hide the fact but her mouth did drop open a little bit when those words came out of his mouth. All Girty could do was stare at him in astonishment, she could not believe what he was saying, the plant of doubt inside of her was about to be destroyed forever…but then the blond haired boy carried on talking. The plant fought back!

The problem was, what he had to say was true, their friendship had fallen apart. She would have liked to have blamed external factors, work, other commitments…but what Max said was true. Her mouth closed and her brow creased into a frown as the enormity of what was being said hit her hard in the face. But the truth’s kept coming, and Girty found it hard to look at Max anymore, and her attention was now drawn to a beetle crawling across the blanket. But then he finally got to the point which was the most important of all…well Girty would always say so in years to come!

Suddenly the beetle did not seem to be as interesting anymore and she looked at Max with wide, bright eyes. This was the moment, the moment that the roots of the plant of doubt died, the moment she could finally admit to Max how she felt. She could not find the words to day it, heck there was only one thing that she could do…she just leapt onto Max, flattening him down onto the blanket and she kissed him, long and passionately. Finally as she broke the kiss she looked down at Max with pure love and devotion. “I feel the same.” A small laugh escaped her and she leaned down and kissed Max once more. The true Hubbles was coming out in her...or was it just the true love for this Gryffindor coming out! Either way, she liked it.
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