@Max Avery

Alan stared at the boy, who he had not seen in a while. A boy that was definitely familiar. His name was Max and Alan was sure that his surname began with an A, but he could not remember more. He had seen him in the dorms before but most importantly he still remembered him from the Lock In. Well Alan's memories from that day were blurry and he only remembered the beginning of the event, but Max seemed like a nice guy.

Alan was currently waiting for his new robes to be made, as he stood aside gazing at the different clothes the store had to offer. "hey, you…", he spoke to the blond boy, "you're Max right? We were in a dorm once" he greeted the boy, letting go off a beautiful black robe with crimson lining.

Alan took a look at the blond boy with the cold blue eyes and gave him a insecure smile. "My name is Alan, Alan Vanes, in case you don't remember it", he introduced himself. "Are you here to get your uniform made?" Alan was wearing his casual clothing at the moment. This being his red sneakers, black pants and a hoodie.

Idly running his fingers over a rack of ties, Max didn't expect to be recognized. He was dressed more down than he ever had been, with dark jeans and an gray hoodie boasting 'SALEM MASSACHUSETTS, A WICKED GOOD TIME.' He'd learned how to blend in a little better the past few months; he was even wearing a pair of white Vans like the supposed 'cool kids.' All in all, he didn't quite look like himself. But he couldn't hide features that those who'd known him would recognize.

It was with a sinking heart that he realized the boy speaking to him knew him. He stifled a sigh as he turned his full attention on his previous roommate, the one who'd been exceptionally awkward during the lock in. Whatever that was all about, Max was ever-vigilant and wary of this kid.

"How could I forget? Hello Alan Alan Vanes," he said with a smile at his own joke. Alan was, at least, a pure-blood and so Max didn't have to worry about being seen with him. This was another potential ally, if only Max was in the mood for more allies. It was difficult to put on a good show when you weren't expecting to have to, but if Alisdair had taught Max anything it was how to act.

"It's wonderful to see you again." Keeping his voice gracious and just distant enough, he offered his hand for a shake. "I'm disappointed we never got to prank Sorrel, but ah, what can you do?"

[quote]
Alan smiled, when Max Avery told him that he remembered him. Alan honestly did not expect that, it has been such a long time that they last talked; kind of sad now that he thought about it. ”I am glad you remember, it is nice to see you too”, he replied as a small smile tugged at his lips. He curiously eyed the other boy, who just seemed different from how he used to look. Then again Alan had changed a lot too... okay the a lot was not entirely true but Alan grew a bit and his hair was ever-changing like always; at least he got a bit control over his genes now, so they would not switch colour unless he had major and sudden mood shifts.

”You are right, it is sad that we actually never went through with the plan- and now that Sorrel is gone we will most likely will not get the chance again”, he explained in case Max had not heard about it yet. Alan did not know how much Max knew about what happened while he was not in Hogwarts, so it might just be nice to catch up a little. ”Then again I am very curious what the professor's store in their offices, you know? I have seen the one from the Charm's professor briefly and it was just full of magic-” He explained rather enthusiastically to the other Gryffindor, who might be older than Alan or not; Alan never asked for the birthday. ”Will you be in third year as well now that you return?”

Alan seemed like such an eager kid, and Max's smile thawed a little as the boy spoke. This person, at least, wasn't out to get him. He was naïve and probably hopeless, but Max could relax enough that he wouldn't have a sore jaw at night from constantly clenching his teeth. He made a noise of agreement in the back of his throat about Sorrel being gone, feeling oddly disappointed by that news. He'd enjoyed her teaching style even if she hit him hard with grades; it would've been fun for everyone to mess with her.

Alan continued on and Max focused back on the boy, pressing his lips together thoughtfully at the image of the professors' offices. "I'd love to see what's in the potion professor's office," he said, lowering his voice as if saying something he shouldn't be. "I'll bet it's full of all sorts of weird shit. Babies floating in jars, eyeballs, human teeth... I went into Borgin and Burkes once to check it out, and that's what I picture for the potion's office." The image of shriveled, long-dead creatures in the tiny back-alley store still flitted through his mind from time to time. It was just so cool.

"Ah, actually..." Max shrugged, trying to ignore the sting his next words would bring. "I'll be in second year. I never finished the exams so I won't be with the lot of you. I suppose this means we'll no longer be roommates, but I'm sure you'll get along with the lads. You seem like the kind of person who can make friends easily."

[quote]Alan's smile brightened, when he saw that Max relaxed a little. He was not sure why or why the other boy was tense in the first place, but him relaxing a bit could only be a good sign and Alan took it as such. Alan listened carefully, but while he mentally cringed at some of the descriptions Max had to offer, he also thought it would be a great experience to just take a peek at the Potions Professor's office. ”We should definitely break into his office at one point! Did you know, that the potions professor changed as well? There are so many new professors that you have yet to meet and a lot of them are nice; just stay away from the Flying professor, she seems a bit crazy!”, he rambled, trying to help the older kid catch up to what was happening at the castle.

”Wait- you have been in the Knockturn Alley? I have never been there, is it as scary as people say? My parents would never bring me there and had me promise to never go there on my own either!”, he was curious about that Alley ever since he read some bad news in the Daily Prophet about something that took place there. It did sound scary and Alan wondered how it really was and if it was as spooky and weird as he had been told.

Alan frowned a bit, when Max explained, that they will not be sharing a dorm or classes anymore, because he had to repeat the second year. He felt a bit disappointed, but nodded at the other boys words. ”As for you... well there are a lot of nice kids in your year; there is Hugh and Lamik for example and some people from the other houses-” Alan was not sure, whether Max would like them, because Max was Max, but they were nice people and Alan wanted Max to know that.

Man, Hogwarts went through professors like water. Just when you got comfortable with one prof, they disappeared and another one popped up to take their place like there was some sort of professor cloning program. Was that a thing? Max wondered if he should start up a conspiracy club when he got back to school just to discuss the amount of people who came and went. Even students... it was like the school had some sort of mysterious danger like a masked man who attacked students that none of the professors seemed to care about. Yes, he was still peeved about that after all this time.

"Most of the professors are crazy," Max sighed, shaking his head sadly as if being an adult was a terrible affliction. "I've half a mind to avoid them all. But yeah, I've been there. It's not so scary as everyone makes it out to be - sure, there's some shady characters you wouldn't want to get into it with, but they wouldn't attack a Hogwarts student and risk bringing law enforcement down to inspect their illegal stuff. In a way it has a quite nice unspoken 'don't shit where you eat' policy. As many underworld places do."

He shrugged, not thinking overmuch about it. You also had to affect a cold, cruel demeanor and swagger when you went through there just to ensure no one thought you were a kid chock-full of naivety, but that was common in many places. Since going to clubs with political underworld clout, he found the contraband side of things rather underwhelming and low-class. Buying illegal wares the lowest point of a pyramid in which politicians instigated wars and casually had people killed on a regular basis.

"I believe I've seen Hugh before, but Lamik isn't a name I'm familiar with." Hugh rang a bell only from the Gryffindor Common Room sleepover, which had derived into a complete and utter mess while Max tried not to snap at people since he was being a 'good Head Boy.' "I'll have to take your word for it, though, because I'm not much interested in making new friends. As you well know, I have a prickly relationship with other people. I'm only interested in allies, to be honest... are there any new purebloods worth meeting?"

Alan Vanes
The soon to be third year listened curiously to how Max began to explain Knockturn Alley. The way Max was describing the place made him rather curious to sneak in there someday.Who would be there to see him anyway? He could just go there and if someone caught him, he could just say that he got lost and saw a lantern there. What Max was saying sounded reasonable, they would not attack a Hogwarts student, as such crimes would bring the Ministry right in front of their doorstep.

"It does make me pretty curious to check the place out at one point, probably will, but not now, because my cousin might be around", Alan explained to Max, "He was supposed to accompany me to buy third year stuff and to get my new robes fitted and whatnot, but I convinced him that I don't need a babysitter". He really did not and his cousin was happy about that as well. It meant that he could do whatever he wanted to do.

"I think that there are some purebloods, but honestly I am not the right person to ask that, because I do not know too many people from the younger years" he said, in a slightly apologetic voice. He did not understand why Max was so fixed on blood purity, but as long as he would not get crazy about it, it was fine with Alan. Maybe Max would grow up and get used to it or he would stick to his opinion. Either way it should be none of Alan's concern as it was not his right to judge Max.

"Still being babysat at your age?" Max scoffed, shaking his head in sympathy. "I must admit I pity you. Having someone follow your every move when you want to be your own person and buy your own things has to be annoying." He wondered if it had to do with Alan's pureblood family being strict or for other reasons. Now that he considered it, he didn't know much about the blond's home life. They knew each other on a mostly surface level from some weird interactions, but beyond common knowledge Max didn't know a single thing about the student Alan Vanes.

"What's your family like, anyways?" he asked conversationally, keeping his tone light in case it was a touchy subject. His tone said he wouldn't be averse to Alan offering a lie if necessary, since oftentimes it could be personal when you were a pureblood. Though Alan didn't seem big into the whole blood purity thing based on his answer of who was new at the school. Did he have one of those families like the Weasleys were reputed to have? That would be nice, a large menagerie of siblings to hang out with. But then, Max probably would've heard of more Vanes's if that was the case.

"Are they nice?" A little more prying than was truly necessary, but curiosity got the better of him and Alan appeared the type to offer friendly answers. He wanted to know for a fact whether there were nice pureblood families out there or not.

Alan would simply shrug slightly, before giving him a small grin, "You only have to learn how to disappear in the mass! That is always useful and they don't follow my every step, so it is usually rather easy to get away, if I want to be alone", he explained, before adding, "They are just worried anyway, they just have to realize that I will be an adult in four years!" He would laugh lightly, burying his hands into the front pocket of his hoodie.

Alan wondered, looking at the boy, before simply nodding. "Yeah, they are... My parents are not in the country at the moment, hence why the babysitting is worse than usual! My aunt is taking care of me until they are back, which already took like a year...", for a moment sadness clouded his eyes; worry, anxiousness and longing. However he shook off the emotions quickly, he had heard that his father was already doing better and it would only be a question of time until he could see them again.

"What about yours?", he asked carefully, not wanting to step on Max's toes in case that he would not be comfortable speaking about it. He would assume that his life was not the easiest, because of how unusual it was for someone to leave in the middle of the school year. He had heard the professors mention it was because of family reasons, but Alan never knew what the actualy reasons were...