The Burden is for Two PV: Max V.

Banner by Julia Evans

Interacting with:	@Skylar Blue
Date:	14th of June, 2026
Date:—————————	Morning
Words:	443

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Presentation day. Max didn’t mind group projects, he often ended up doing better than whatever he could accomplish on his own. Wether that was due to him working well with others, or his partners keeping him at arms length to keep him from screwing everything up, he didn’t know. People were the best part about partnering, in his opinion. It gave him the option to be useful, to help. He liked that. As little as he usually liked doing schoolwork, it frustrated him more being sidelined. It was true that he created disasters as easily as he drew breath. But being placed in a non-official time-out only to be given a strip of parchment to read from on the day of, it didn’t feel right.

This project had been a bit different though. He had been paired with fellow Gryffindor Skylar. He didn’t really know if he got to help because she was as horrible at charms as him, or if she just didn’t know much about how his schoolwork usually ended up. Most of the year had gone by, and they had barely interacted. Despite the color of her hair, it had taken him months before he recognized her when walking into a room.

They had teamed up, and worked rather well together. Being set to present a charm to the class, they had gone for the classic levitation charm. It was easy enough to do, neither incantation nor wand movement was very complicated. There was though some interesting aspects to it. The difference in weight of the object lifted did some truly interesting things to the accuracy of the charm.

Now it was the day of their presentation. Max wasn’t one for getting nerves over stuff like this. He didn’t usually prepare so much either. But today was different. A feeling of dread was churning in the back of his mind. What for, he didn’t really know. He had even taken the bother to bring a bit of notes. Scraps of parchment were ripped in uneven pieces, and filled with his usual handwriting that looked closer to chicken scratches than anything else.

The class started, and partners presented. He fiddled with the parchment. Trying not to lose his hold of it, as well as not distracting the people around him. Then it was their turn. Standing up made him stumble a bit, dropping his notes on the floor. Swearing under his breath, he quickly scooped them up. Giving Skylar a shaky nod to her question, he stepped toward the front of the classroom. «Let’s go kill this thing!» Fake confidence was still confidence, right? That’s at least what he counted on.

Banner by Julia Evans

Interacting with:	————————	————————	————————	@Skylar Blue
Date:	————————	————————	————————	14th of June, 2026
————————	————————	————————	————————	Morning
Words:	————————	————————	————————	554

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Why was he so nervous?! He could stand before a massive crowd and make a fool of himself without feeling as much as a twitch. Perhaps it was because they had worked so well together while preparing it. Max knew he wasn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, that much was obvious. But he genuinely liked learning and he was never one for not pulling his own weight. So when group projects usually ended in him being sidelined for a better result he got frustrated. He played it cool and played the role of jester and clown as usual, but it secretly stung. Not everyone could be the brightest, but that did not mean his ideas were worthless or not worth listening to!

This project with Skylar had been different. They had planned and researched, sometimes for what felt like hours. Granted he needed a bit of help keeping his attention where it should be. Pure lies. He needed a lot more than that, but he was happy living in his delusion. In return he saved his jokes for when they were down in a slump and could use a laugh. Well, at least most of them. He felt like they had both worked so hard that it would be a shame if the presentation itself went any other way than swimmingly.

He had picked up his notecards and stumbled to the front, taking a backseat while Skylar did the first part as agreed. He tried to pay attention, he really did. Listen to Skylar, remember his own key points, prepare. Instead his mind drifted. Wiping sweaty palms on his trousers while keeping a death grip on his notes cards. He had meant to be productive with the time he had. Yet, he was called up before he knew it. Skylar said something as they passed each other, but he didn’t understand what. Throwing her a look of a deer caught in headlights, then he stepped up and turned towards the class.

Coldness spread down his back. His palms were once again clammy. He looked between all the people before his gaze moved to the notecards. On the top one were three words: Levitate the thingy. That wasn’t right. He was pretty sure the demonstration was supposed to be at the very end. Right? He flipped the card over before dropping it. Shuffling through the deck he couldn’t seem to find the starting point. Why hadn’t he been smart enough to label it ’Start’? Because he was an idiot, that’s why. He slowly lowered the notes and fixed his eyes at the back wall behind all the students. «Uhhm… The levitation charm is sorta… nifty.»

Not really having listened to Skylar before, he stumbled his way through a few sentences. About half of it had already been said in a far better manner by his partner. He was running out of things to say, and quickly. He had been so sure he could handle this. He always did. Maybe Skylar should have shoved him aside after all, like all other partners ended up doing. I… He started, before desperately searching for Skylars eyes. The intention was as clear as it could have been. With dread and apology mixed together in his expression his eyes shouted what he could not say out loud: «Please help!»