Practice First, Girls Second PV Max

Banner by Julia Evans

Interacting with:	@Zephyr Deakin
Date:	5th of April, 2026
Date:—————————	Afternoon
Words:	688

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Being a part of the quidditch team, that was his goal pretty much since the first of September. He had worked tirelessly for it too, in his own opinion. So much so that it would only be understandable if the entire team was sick of seeing him. Asking questions, talking tactics, discussing brooms. He loved every minute of it, and had attended every game so far. Only just before Christmas did it strike him that he should perhaps work on his skills as well.

Convincing his parents to let him bring his Da’s old broom to school was not easy. Somehow harder than the talk they had about letting him attend Hogwarts. He didn’t really get it. A broom should be used, and what better use was there? The concern of him hurting himself somehow with the boost in speed and maneuvering met deaf ears. So he got his will at last. He had flown close to every day since then. Braving colder temperatures and more wind than he probably should, his determination was endless.

When his buddy Zeph got a spot on Hufflepuffs broom racing team, he was almost green with jealousy. Only the instinct of genuinely wanting his friend to do well stopped a whole spiral. At least Zeph didn’t take his spot. And they were playing different sports. So when it was suggested that they fly together, he happily agreed. Who knew, perhaps he could even pick up a trick or two.

What started as an easy flight turned competitive. How could it not, with the two of them. «You will eat my dust, Deakin!» He cackled as they both set off. Round after round, before dips and dives followed, both trying to outdo the other. This was the life. Someone should make «race your friend» into an official sport. Max could think of nothing better.

By the time they stepped off their brooms, sweaty and a bit short of breath, Max was smiling so wide his face hurt. Classes could never outcompete this. He would much rather do this for six hours, five days a week. He slung his broom over his shoulder as he crossed the few steps separating him from the wooden bleachers. Putting it down carefully, he slung himself on the bench and grabbed his own bottle of water. Swallowing a few mouthfuls, he poured a bit over his head too. The sun seemed to finally have won the yearly battle against king winter, and was blissfully warming. Still, the coolness of the water was more than welcome.

«Yeah, spring is definitely here. But we might still get another snowfall or two before winter leaves us» He shrugged a bit and leaned back, supported by the bleacher above. «It will be good not worrying ofer losing body parts because of frostbite or something though!» He had never experienced it himself, but the tales told by his Da was more than horrifying enough to vividly imagine.

Upon the mention of the spring ball, Max almost swallowed wrong as he took another mouthful of water. «The ball? Oh, uhm… I don’t know really» He tried to pull of a nonchalant shrug while he felt his face heat. It was an obvious lie. He never was the best lier, but at least he had stopped stuttering as much. «Julia» He admitted with a bit of a smile. «But there will be plenty of people there, so probably loads of others too!» He added in a hurry.

The situation with Jules was complicated. He didn’t really know why his stomach felt so strange every time she was around, or apparently also when he thought of her. Needing the attention to not be solely on him, he fired the question back at him, a bit too desperate to add the usually confident grin. «Who are you going with then? I know plenty of people have yet to make plans.» People had truly been going crazy, trying to find dates or a group to go with. He didn’t really get it. He would be there, Jules would be there. It was only natural that they hung out.

Banner by Julia Evans

Interacting with:	@Zephyr Deakin
Date:	5th of April, 2026
Date:—————————	Afternoon
Words:	599

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Why did his cheeks have to get so red? He could curse the heat for giving away what he had yet to fully realize for himself. On top of that he could curse himself for being in this situation in the first place. He also sort of felt like making a profane gesture at Zeph for wearing that teasing smirk. He did neither, at least not yet.

He took another mouthful of water to give himself time to think. He wasn’t really sure what he and Julia were. They were friends for sure, that he knew. But when he was with her he was scared of looking like a fool. He felt nothing like it when he was around his other friends. He couldn’t really put his finger on what it was. He had asked her to the ball because it felt like the natural thing to do. In his mind it had been nothing more than a «Hey, we’re both going so why not meet up there?» type of thing.

He swallowed slowly before nodding with a bit of a smile. «Yeah, Julia» He suddenly felt a bit silly saying her name. He had never talked girls with Zephyr before, why would they? And yet, here they were. To attempt to cover the awkwardness he gave a playful shove. «No, not like a date! We’re just both going to be there, so we’ll hang out!» That sounded good right? Sure. Completely.

Dating was something the older students did. He had caught on that much. But this was nothing like that. He had no plans whatsoever to hold hands or any of the stuff people normally did on dates. Him asking Julia to go with him to the ball was nothing different than if he’d asked Zeph, or any of their other friends. That is what he chose to tell himself at least.

Hearing his buddy was going with a group, he felt sort of stupid. Why hadn’t he thought of that? He had just imagined that they would all meet up there and hang together. Only that he would make sure to include Jules too. He caught himself wondering if this meant he couldn’t hang with his other friends at the ball after all. The thought was equally concerning and intriguing. Concerning because he really didn’t want to miss anything, and their mates always had a good time. It was intriguing at the same time because the prospect of spending the entire night with just Jules made his stomach do backflips.

He was saved from his thought spiral by Zeph’s next comment, and he laughed. «Thanks, but there’s no chance of that happening!» Shaking his head he chuckled a bit more. «If you think I’m leaving the rest of you alone at the snack table, you my friend is sorely mistaken!»

Silence settled for a moment while he fiddled with the water bottle. There was a question still on his mind, he just didn’t quite know how to voice it. «…so there’s not anyone you want to make sure is there then?» The question slipped out before he realized he had opened his mouth. Just typical. So he did what he did best: scrambled to cover it. «Like you’re not sure you want to spend the night with them or anything, but if they didn’t show up it would be sort of a letdown?» Did that clarification make things less awkward? No, definitely not. Out of options now that he had voiced it, he opted for dragging a hand through his hair and letting out an awkward chuckle.

Banner by Julia Evans

Interacting with:	@name name
Date:	05th of April, 2026
—	Afternoon
Words:	617

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The situation with Jules was more complicated than he had the energy to put into words. That was quite the statement from a boy who could outdo a tornado. Still, it was the truth. They were good friends. There had been a few years where they lost contact, and it was far from the easiest thing to iron out once they met again a couple of months ago. Once that was squared away, at least sort of, it was like no time had passed at all. They had both changed a bit, that much was true. But the conversation flowed like no time had passed at all. He didn’t quite know when something changed, or what exactly was different.

Suddenly the girl wouldn’t leave his mind. He liked thinking about her, that much was true. It always made him feel happy. The problem was that it became impossible to focus on anything else. He had even come close to making mistakes in his herbology assignments lately, and that was not something he took lightly. Then there was the change in behavior. Max didn’t often care what others thought of him or if he messed up, as long as they laughed when he tried to be funny. When Jules was around he suddenly had the urge to make her laugh harder than she ever had, but at the same time it was difficult. Something made him hesitate before doing something that could be embarrassing. Because what if Julia started laughing at him instead of with him?

It was difficult enough to try to comprehend on his own. And now he was here with Zeph, who apparently wanted to talk about it. Oh, why couldn’t they just start shoving each other until they had a full on wrestling match? That would have been preferable. Fun even. But he didn’t quite feel like he could. Was it uncomfortable to talk about? Sure. But having a buddy help to make sense of things could hardly hurt. Was he blushing? He dragged a hand over his face. It was warm enough to the touch that there was no question. But then he caught on to the second part of the statement. It took him a moment though, and so he saw fit to grab the chance to move the attention to someone other than himself. «Girls…» He repeated, confusion appearing on his face. «Like who? Friends… or just anybody?» He thought about it for a moment. Jules blushed sometimes. He didn’t really mind it. But if a lot of girls suddenly started doing it, that would be both confusing and a bit irritating.

He scoffed off the teasing as best he could. It was embarrassing really. He didn’t quite know why people seemed to make such a big deal of him going with Julia. The fact that he blushed just by the thought, well, that was something he was set on ignoring. He hadn’t meant to ask about crushes. As he understood it, that was something older kids and teens were preoccupied with. He had never had one. He wasn’t even sure if he was able to have one yet. «No, not like a crush…» He hesitated a bit, trying to find the right words. «Just… someone you’d be sorta let down if they didn’t show, that’s all» He was quick to shrug, trying to make it look nonchalant. Of course it was anything but. «No reason! And I don’t think it’s that sort of thing? Cause then I might actually have to ask someone» He dreaded the possibility. The fact that he had agreed to meet Julia there, and the fact that they were going together remained separate in his mind,