Chapter 60 ~ Obvious Results.

Even from the fifth-year Ravenclaw dormitory, situated in the high tower, the deep chimes of the school clock chiming four could be heard, the sky outside already dark and the sound echoing through the inky black. Maxine looked up for her book and grinned as she heard them, however, excitement and eagerness sparking in her body. Four o'clock - time to head for the dungeons and meet Theon. It was their second study session since before Christmas and she was looking forward to it, a strange feeling of joy in her heart as she hurried to place her book on the cabinet beside her bed and grab her bag from where it lay on the bed. Her emotion was strange for hr, though, a wide, beaming smile set upon her face as she headed for the door. And Rose, sitting on her own bed and scribbling down Potions work, noticed this.

"Where are you going, Maxie?" Rose questioned, pausing her quil and causing her to turn and look back from the door.

"Just to meet Theon." Maxine answered, face perfectly normal and unashamed. The opinions of her freidnsa and guilt for the matter had faded in her mind.

"But I thought you said you weren't meeting him again." Rose said with confusion, watching her friend warily. Maxine already knew her thoughts on Theon and Maxine and his mutual friendship.

Maxine simply laughed. "I joked I wouldn't be seeing him if he didn't let me try and teach him the patronus charm." She answer with humour. "You must have missed them last bit."

Rose didn't pursue the subject. "What does Stefan think of is?" She questioned warily.

Maxine felt a little stiffness then. Yes, Stefan knew, and no, he hadn't taken it well, despite of their past agreement not to discuss the matter of Theon. A little guilt came then and her answer was given in a different tone. "Stefan's ok with it." She lied. "Anyway, we both agreed not to dwell on Theon."

Rose stared at her for a second but gave up after a small pause, turning back to her notes. "Well - have fun." 

Maxine smiled, mood changing again slightly. Strange happiness seemed to enter her when Theon was mentioned. "Thanks. Good luck with your potions." Reaching one hand up, Maxine pulled down the door handle and exited the dormitory, still slightly warm inside from the weird sense of joy that clung to her as she reflected on the matter of Theon again. She would make him try at the Patronus charm - it a hard piece of spell work but he had come on in leaps and bounds since they had first started and he had been practising manically between sessions. Plus she knew it would give the boy a great amount of confidence if he managed to do it.

Making her way through the common room, Maxine caught the eyes of Stefan, who was also crossing the room, heading for the small library was open to the Ravenclaw students. He knew exactly where she was going and his expression invoked guilt within her before, as she exited the room, it turned to rebellion. Why did he have to make it so hard for her?

Still, by the time he had reached the entrance to the dungeons, the anger for her friend had faded - mostly because Stefan was no longer on her mind. Instead, she was busy dreaming up more spells to teach Theon and looking forward to brewing once more. Her mind seemed to be unable to accommodate any thought that wasn't linked to the meeting.

Turning her mind to Theon himself as she walked along the dark corridors in the direction of the room of requirement, however, opinions did come into her head. She knew she trusted the boy now, that was certain he was definitely genuine, she thought, despite her previous judgements, and so accommodating. He just laughed and joked with her, he was a friend. A friend who didn't ask to know her deepest troubles and worry about his own. 

Maxine realised she was comparing him to Stefan and stopped, knowing it wasn't fair, and instead turned her mind back to the Patronus charm, wondering, if Theon managed to cast it, what it would be. But she didn't have much time to dwell on rhe matter, bumping into Theon himself as he came from the other direction, presumably looking for her.

"Hey." He flashed a smile, dark eyes glinting handsomely. 

"Hi." She returned, grinning back. "Sorry I'm a bit late."

He turned to start walking back down the corridor, Maxine moving to follow. "It's fine." He answered, grinning. "We've got plenty of time."

"Yeah, I suppose so." She smiled, then gained an eager look to her eye as she looked at him. "What are we gonna be brewing today?" 

Theon grinned, turning his head to look down her and meet her gaze. "That mean herbicide for Horklumps that we're scheduled to do next lesson. It's complicated but if I walk you though the steps then you'll get it right. It doesn't take long so we can do it quite a few times till you can do it on your own."

"Sounds good. Knowing you, I'll have it perfect by the end of the hour." Maxine grinned at him with fun in her eye. "Professor Batyaeva will be surprised."

Theon laughed, eyes teasing as he answered. "I thought we agre not to flatter each other. You're an excellent teacher as well."

She made a face at him, still smiling. "Alright, alright, complements are not to be given." 

Theon grinned again and there was a slight pause before he asked; "So...what will I be attempting to cast today?"

Maxine chuckled and gave him a slight push. "You mean casting successfully. By then time I'm finished with you, you'll have it." She turned her head, looking forward down the corridor. "And, to answer your question, you will be attempting the Patronus charm."

He groaned and lolled his head back before looking at her. "I fail at that one....even you won't be able to get me to cast it. Professor Silvers was at loss of what to do with me when we did it in class."

She laughed. "If you keep practising, it'll come. All you need to do is channel the happiness for a memory."

Theon half-laughed, half-sighed. "That's the bit I find hard." He looked at her. "What happy memory do you use?"

Maxine paused, despite knowing exactly what memory she used to cast her patronus; the time hen she and Stefan had first become official friends after the fateful row over his abilities and a conversation in the owlery. But she didn't want to talk about Stefan and simply replied brusquely, shrugging. "Just a memory." She turned to him, moving off the subject of her happy memory. "Why? What memory did you try with?"

Theon paused, bowing his head and sighing. "Well - that's the thing-" he paused, hesitant. "I don't-" Once again, Theon exhaled, and then, leaving it there despite Maxine waiting for an answe, he turned to the right as they reached the entrance to the room of requirement, reaching out to push down on the door handle and opening it before entering. Nut Maxine wasn't going to let him leave it there, puzzled by his reaction and questioning him as she followed on to enter the room.

"Theon, what-"

Maxine stopped mid-sentence as she fell to the floor, the image of their normal study room flashing before her eyes only for a second before being replaced by that of the fifth-year Ravenclaw Boy's dormitory. But the image, instead of being accurate and simply a sight interpreted by Maxine's own eyes, the image clouded her vision and swooped around shakily, like a dream in which trying if very confusing. The photos of Avery located by the Golden Boy's bed flashed before her, Stefan's lone area that hosted a picture of her and him as the onto embellishment, the light pine wardrobes at the end of the dormitory. Confusion and panic wellled in her heart as she failed to gain control of this scene and instead felt the view turn to exit the room.

Meanwhile, Theon watched in genuine confusion and bewilderment. Not only were Maxine's eyes open as she revived the hallucination, they were also strangely blank, as if she was blind. A second later, her body involuntarily jolted and she began to writhe as she realised she couldn't actually see her surroundings. But Theon simply watched her in confusion and curiosity.

It was then, remembering information Avery and Ava had passed onto him that they had been told by the Turner man who would provide the money, that Theon realised what was going on. With a quick, cunning thought, he realised how he could warp Maxine's hallucination to help his plan and stop it from interfering. Moving forward, Theon hauled her up off the floor, Maxine still thrashing in confusing as the vision in her head changed into a view of the Ravenclaw commom room that zoomed hazily around and flashed in unnatural colour. But Theon got her on her feet and she paused at his touch, still as she turned her head world in confusion, blue-green eyes still wide and unseeing. Raising his wand and still holding her, Theon incanted and held it to the side of her forehead, touching her temple, and again deprived her of a memory, concentrating hard as he Performed a tricky altercation in the charm and removed the current thought of the vision. Then, as Maxine's sight returned and her mind pieced returned to her talking and cutting off as if nothing had happened between, Theon moved his hand up to touch her face as she started talking from where she and left off.

-do you mean-" She broke off again as she realised his hand was cupping her chin and his eyes connected with hers as she tilted her head up to look into his warm, dark eyes. She didn't know why he was doing it, but suddenly it felt so natural and she was frozen as they stared at each other, nog noticing the energy entering her body in soft pulses from her ring finger.

Ten seconds must have passed between them before Theon suddenly pulled away, both him and Maxine suddenly feeling bashful. He looked down, back at her, then turned away, a shy, sheepish look on his face as he turned to approach the desk where his bag sat. She looked down as well, Thein only on her mind but also shy, questioning what had just happened. But it was clear Theon wasn't going to mention it as she turned to her, picking up a book and looking at her with a stiff smile.

"Come on, let's get started on that herbicide."

Maxine smiled a similar smile and approached him, putting her bag down on the counter beside his. She knew it wouldn't be talked of and had no intention of talking of it again, but the moment still stayed in her brain throughout the whole brewing process, even when her brief shyness with Theon turned back into the normal joking friendship they had maintained before, or rather, since the previous session when her feelings had changed with the help of the ring. 

But it would always be there. The foundations for the serious stage of Ava's plan had been set.