Chapter 10 ~ Stefan.

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Even if she'd gone up in her intelligence status in Ravenclaw, Maxine still received much hostility and unwelcome from the other houses, and some Ravenclaws hadn't accepted her either. The golden twins most definitely disapproved, bombardment in teases, snarky comments and jinxes coming from their Golden Group, therefore the casting of a shield charm being necessary whenever Maxine met anyone from the club. 

Slytherins, on the other hand, seemed determined to please her, again down to her family history. To be honest, when they were being nice, Slytherins were ok. Well, that's what Maxine felt anyway, though she dared not say it aloud so it could become another verbal weapon for any haters. James would reveal in the statement particularly.

Yes, James had not subsided, even after receiving cold shoulders and threats from both Lily and Albus. Apparently Lily had written to her mother about this, but the fact that Ginny Potter could not really come up to Hogwarts and scold her son meant that the letter didn't help Maxine much. In her first fortnight there she saw little of Albus and Lily, and to much of James, who persisted in following her everywhere with his taunts. God, why Gryffindoors were portrayed as heroes was a mystery to Maxine. In her opinion it was James and his friends who belonged in Slytherin, not her.

Work was fine; she was surprised how far ahead of the class she was, and now felt no fear about her O.W.L.s. There were only a few things she hadn't covered, mostly practical work, but most of the time she received O's in her assignments. Care of Magical Creatures was the most enjoyable, as Maxine hadn't been able to do much on the subject in the more practical way, she'd just read books. But meeting all the magical creatures she'd read about was a truly appreciated pleasure.

There was one thing that bothered her the most, though, and surprisingly it was not James or the Golden Twins with their relentless attacks. It was the fact that one of her class members was never mentioned; he was ignored by everyone and had never uttered a word except for the ones he had said to her at the feast. He was the dark boy with the solemn grey eyes, and she was perturbed by it all. So, one day before Charms as Rose, Fauna and her waited outside the class room, Maxine put the question forward. 

''Rose, who is that boy with the dark hair who never speaks a word? Ot's just, I have a feeling that he's going to be my charms partner for this session and I don't know a thing about him.''

Rose turned her head. ''You mean him?'' Maxine hadn't noticed the silent boy come down the corridor and lean against a wall, now reading what looked to be their charms textbook. She nodded.

''Yes, he's the one I'm talking about. But, who is he?''

Fauna entered the conversation in a low voice. ''He's Stefan, and yeah, he's likely to be your Charms partner.'' 

There was silence as Rose and Fauna both ended the contribution of information. Maxine raised her eyebrows. ''So...are you going to tell me what's so bad about him?''

Fauna and Rose exchanged glances and Maxine felt exasperation. ''Guys!''

''Well,why don't you ask him himself.'' Fauna said breezily. ''It's time for charms anyway.

Maxine turned to find Professor Flitwick opening the door for the fifth-years with a smile. 

''Ok, get into pairs!'' The little voice of the Professor squeaked as the students flooded in. Maxine looked around herself nervously, knowing inevitably that Stefan would have to be her partner but hoping a hufflepuff might just ask her to join them. It seemed not, as twenty seconds later she and Stefan were standing alone in the room. 

Professor Flitwick smiled. ''Well, if you two would please pair up and then we'll start!''

With a nervous glance at the boy as she sat down at the desk next to him, Maxine prepared herself for a lesson of awkward silences.