The Middle

[November Albertson]

November was excited, first day back and her cousin Maggy was here and her Aunt had officially become a permanent Professor. She was reeling off a good summer, where most of the time she had stayed here in New Zealand with her Aunt. The few brief weeks she went home to the states had been rough, with her brother continuing to be a jerk. But November was trying to get over that and was excited to see Flavio again, she hadn't not thought about him every day of the break. She knew it was silly, they were close friends. Just really good friends but all those cheesy songs about crushing on your best friend were completely her at the moment. She hadn't stopped thinking about who he meant last semester that he liked. Walking into the Great Hall with her young cousin in tow she found a spot at the Hufflepuff table far from the others so they would be able to hear each other talk and maybe she'd get to have a nice moment to fully introduce Flavio to Maggy, she had on the train but her cousin had passed out pretty easily on the train and Flavio didn't really get to meet Mags.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio enjoyed his break from school and was happy to return with a fresh attitude and a clear mind to the things that confused him the previous year. There were countless things that lingered in his thoughts from his fourth year, many of them surrounding the conflict between Amber and November but the most prominent thoughts being his confusion towards his recently developed feelings for November and the impact said feelings would have on their friendship. He had gone in circles wondering, and even attempted to ask November herself for advice on the matter, hinting to his change in feelings towards her but (hopefully) not revealing the truth so he would be able to figure it out on his own and only confess when the time was right. He thought he was successful in hiding it all from November but could not help but smile a little more at his friend on the train ride to school and even go out of his way to meet up with her and her newly sorted cousin in the great hall as soon as possible. It would be an opportunity to properly meet her cousin and spend time catching up with November as that was really all he wanted to do. Seeing her again had been the first thing on his mind when he left Chile and remained that way as he walked into the great hall, approaching her and Maggy at the Hufflepuff table. "Hello." He greeted, smiling at both of them before sitting down next to November. "Did you enjoy the train ride? How do you like school so far?" He then asked Maggy, wanting to make conversation with the first year to make sure she was comfortable and also to make November happy. She had told him she had trouble adjusting to school at first and Flavio wanted to make sure things were different for her cousin, for everyone's sake.
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[Maggy Harrington]

Maggy was a pretty happy kid, she was bold and bright but still a quiet child. She was excited to get the chance to make friends with some of the older students having made a few in her own year already. She thought it would be pretty cool to be able to go around and say she knew that older student to her friends and it be real. November and herself were waiting for her friend Flavio to come when he suddenly showed up and started to talk to her. "Hi," she said a little shyly. This boy was super cute to Maggy and much older than her, and he was talking to her! "The train was nice, I slept most of the way, but I guess you know that. School is really big!" Maggy said looking between her cousin and the boy.
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[November Albertson]

November couldn't help but notice him the second he walked into the Great Hall. But she tried to play her nerves down and stay cool while he walked up. He was wearing glasses now, he had been on the train as well and she couldn't help but think it just added to his good looks. She smiled up at him butterflies tumbling around in her stomach and she was glad he put the focus on Maggy for the moment. He seemed to be genuine about his questions to her which melted November into a little pool of drool in her mind. "Hey," she managed to get out. Looking him over she noticed a new badge on his chest the word Prefect branded across it. It didn't surprise her, but it also did. Flavio was so much cooler than he had been the previous year already.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Maggy seemed happy about being in school rather than nervous and it reassured Flavio that she would be okay. It had been a worry of his that she would face challenges like the ones November had briefly mentioned but it seemed like he was worrying for no reason and the bubbly, excitable first year would have lots of fun at Hogwarts instead. He smiled as Maggy exclaimed the school was big, nodding and chuckling as he responded to her. "It is pretty daunting, if you ever get lost you can talk to me or one of the Hufflepuff prefects and they should help you." He said, remembering how he was so terrified of the size of the school himself as a first year, that he constantly held his sister's hand following her around like a lost puppy. Without Pia to help him out he was sure he would have gotten lost every few minutes as sure as he was that if he did get lost he would have asked a prefect and would have been pointed in the right direction. "Are you excited for your classes?" He then asked, momentarily looking to November and smiling before returning his attention to Maggy as he waited for a response.​

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[Maggy Harrington]

Maggy smiled at the older boy and glanced at her cousin who was being very quiet, which she found odd. Her cousin sure was quiet but at home whenever she visited November was always fun and laughed a lot with her and Everly. This was a new side to November she wasn't used to seeing. "Yeah, that's what that Prefect Amber said when she brought us up to the Common Room last night for the meeting," Maggy replied. She was surely going to reply mostly on November and her mother than others but Maggy wasn't too nervous now about asking one of the older students. "Oh yeah! I don't have my mom this semester, but I will next semester so that it going to be really fun," she said excitedly.
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[November Albertson]

November was beginning to wonder how much longer she could sit still. She knew things weren't ever meant to go her way but she hadn't thought he'd completely ignore her for her younger cousin. She knew her friend was trying to be nice but she also missed him and talking to him about things. She was interested in hearing about his summer and his family, of course she already knew all of Maggy's thoughts on the school and such so the conversation was beginning to be a bit boring. She couldn't help herself stare at him a little and hoped neither him or Maggy noticed that. She returned the smile when Flavio shared one and nodded to encourage her cousin talking to him. It was a nice conversation and she felt safe leaving Flavio in charge of watching her cousin. "I need to go check our Head of House's office hours, Maggy your first class is History of Magic, don't be late, alright?" She said to her cousin as she stood up from the bench passing another smile towards Flavio. He grew a bit over the break, leaving it felt like she was able to breathe again. She hardly noticed the little notebook that slide from her bag onto the floor when she got up.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio nodded to what Maggy was saying, and continued to smile at the girl. He was so focused on making sure Maggy was happy and comfortable that he did not realize November's demeanor being furthermore quiet than usual nor the fact she was staring at him a little, and only truly clued in to her actions as she stood up and mentioned her head of house before walking away. This put a damper on Flavio's mood, causing him to watch her leave, confused to why she was leaving to begin with knowing she could find out her head of house's office hours any time of day. Still in a bout of confusion, the Ravenclaw shook his head, trying not to overthink it as he turned back to Maggy. "Oh right, your mother teaches astronomy." He said, thoughts of November leaving still on his mind regardless of the fact he knew he should have been focusing his full attention on his conversation with Maggy. "Are you liking Hufflepuff?" Flavio asked in an effort to keep the conversation going, half attempting to distract himself from November leaving. Though it still played on his mind and he made a mental note to ask her about it later as he wondered if she was okay. It was sudden and unusual, for sure, and he did not know how to react to it or what he was supposed to think.
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[Maggy Harrington]

Maggy nodded to the older student as he continued to talk and waved goodbye to her cousin. She felt something land on her foot and peeked under the table. It was November's secret notebook, the one she wasn't allowed to look in. Curiosity got the better of the younger girl and Maggy leaned down as the boy continued talking and picked up the notebook opening to a random page. "Mhmm," she said to whatever it was that he was saying. A smile grew on her face and she giggled a little reading the words on the page. "Are you Chilean?" She asked the boy glancing up from the notebook.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio was too distracted by his own confusion to fully notice that Maggy herself was distracted nor that a notebook had fallen from November's bag as she stood up to leave moments earlier. That was until he watched Maggy lean over to pick something from the ground, and sit back up reading a notebook later questioning where he was from. He was Chilean and that was no secret although that was not something a first year would know. The year had only just started and apart from Maggy, the only first years Flavio had spoken to were the ones he lead towards the common room after the start of year feast so her questioning him so specifically was not only odd but illogical. His frown deepened as he responded, looking between Maggy and the notebook in her hands that was evidently the reason for her question. "I am Chilean." The question of how she knew that answered itself and all Flavio wanted to do was snatch the notebook away from the girl, wondering what the notebook said about him and the specific words that had caused Maggy's giggle. His first instinct told him the notebook said something negative but he could not be sure, so he extended his hand out saying "May I take a look at that?", not wanting to be rude himself but feeling a mix of impatient, curious, and anxious about the notebook while still trying to figure out where it came from.
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[Maggy Harrington]

Maggy giggled again hearing him confirm that he was Chilean. It meant surely there wasn't another Flavio that her cousin had a crush on. The poem in the notebook was one of the weirdest things Maggy had ever read. She was too young to have feelings for another person but she knew about crushes and seeing her cousin's hand writing about a crush she had was funny. She couldn't wait to find November and pick on her. "November has a crush on someone!" Maggy said holding the notebook back and sticking her tounge out towards the boy. She wasn't sure if November would want the boy to know that her crush was on him. They were friends but even Maggy knew that sometimes people didn't like each other and maybe her cousin liked this boy but he didn't like her. She wasn't ready to just give up the notebook straight away. She dangled it in her face out of reach just a little bit for a moment. But in truth Maggy did not care enough about her cousin's crush and ended up passing the notebook over to the older boy, maybe the crush wasn't something she still had anyways. "That page right there has a special note just for you, I think," Maggy said before sitting back and eating more of her breakfast with a big smile on her face.
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[Flavio Morales-Tipene]

Flavio continued to feel impatient and anxious as Maggy taunted him, pulling the book away then dangling it out of his reach after exclaiming November had a crush. Though he bit his many feelings back keeping a straight face hoping that giving her no reaction would mean she would hand the notebook over faster. The notebook must have belonged to November, he concluded, and was accidentally left behind causing the scene he and Maggy were caught in. He was glad when she eventually handed it over, receding to eat her breakfast with a final statement the book had a note just for him. Flavio turned to the table, frowning in thought of whether he should read the notebook or keep his friend's privacy and simply return it. But the lingering curiosity to what was written about him and why it caused Maggy to giggle convinced him to look over the page. He frowned, partially out of confusion but mostly from shock at the sight of his name in his friend's handwriting among many other things that not only hinted but proved his feelings were returned. He felt like he was wasting time continuing to sit at the Hufflepuff table rather than seek out his friend to confront her about the poem, and though Flavio knew it could have all been a joke, he did not have much time to think himself out of talking to his friend as he stood up, ran a hand through his hair and headed out of the great hall to find November, notebook still in hand.​

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