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7. Dog Days Are Over by Florence + The Machine | The Plan

Chapter Five | The Plan

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MAXINE

After Mr. and Mrs. Weasley left and Madame Pomfrey let Roxanne go, we all headed back for the Gryffindor Tower. It was obvious that everyone had a long night. Dumbledore was killed, Death Eaters attacked the castle, and Draco was gone, too. I wasn't sure how to grasp that, but it was true. He was gone, and I didn't know when I would see him again.

"So, what happens now that Dumbledore is gone? Who will be the new headmaster?" Jenna asked us.

"Does it really matter anymore, Jenna?" Elle spoke up. "I mean, Dumbledore was the best headmaster here. I don't think Hogwarts will be the same now that he's dead."

Dead. I was really beginning to loathe that word now. It seemed like everyone around me was dead. My parents, Cedric, Sirius, and now Dumbledore. If Voldemort was trying to target the people that I loved the most and make me snap, then he was doing a really good job at it. I didn't think I would understand how Tom Riddle became Lord Voldemort.

Once we reached the Fat Lady, we said the password and she let us inside. When we entered the Gryffindor Common Room, Ginny, Jenna, and Lana bid us goodnight and headed upstairs. Elle and Hermione sat beside each other on the couch, Ron sat in the armchair, Roxanne sat in a chair near the fireplace, and Harry and I sat on the floor and in the middle of everyone.

"You think the other boys are already back?" Roxanne asked.

"Probably. Though, I don't doubt that they're already upstairs and asleep," Hermione replied.

"Good, because the six of us need to talk about something important," Harry announced. "It's about what Dumbledore was planning to do before Snape killed him tonight."

"Speaking of that, can someone tell me what happened while I was knocked out?" Roxanne spoke up once again.

Harry looked down at his feet, then he looked up at me. "Max, why don't you tell Roxanne?"

"Yeah, Maxine, tell me what happened," she said, raising her eyebrows at me.

I huffed a sigh and reluctantly began to explain. "Draco Malfoy was given two missions. One of them was to fix the Vanishing Cabinet in the Room of Requirement so that the other Death Eaters could get inside the castle. The other mission that he was given was to kill Dumbledore."

"What else, Max?" Harry implied.

I bit my bottom lip, feeling a lump in my throat. "I might've known about it for a while."

"What?" Hermione spoke up. "For how long, exactly?"

I wiped a few tears from my eyes and then continued. "Ever since Slughorn's Christmas Party."

Roxanne was pissed off now. "You mean to tell us, that for six months, you knew what Malfoy was planning to do at the end of the year, and you didn't bother to mention this to anyone?" Roxanne asked in a harsh tone. "You could've prevented all of this!"

"Listen, Roxanne, you don't know what we've been through--"

"Oh, so, you were putting your relationship first over your friends and your twin brother. Wow, Maxine, that makes a lot of sense. I'm so glad that we can all count on you to tell us things."

"I was going to tell Harry about it, but then--"

"But what, Maxine?" Roxanne interrupted me, shooting a glare my way.

I stared at her for a brief moment before continuing. "You just don't understand, okay? I was going to tell Harry about Draco's missions, but then everything got confusing for me when I--"

"When you started to have feelings for him? When you started sleeping with him?" Roxanne interrupted me once again.

"You what?" Harry asked, his eyes widened. "When did this happen?"

"About a few months ago," Roxanne replied. "I caught her walking with him back to the Slytherin Dungeon. Up until now, she had no idea that I knew. Thought you were so clever, didn't you, Maxine?"

"Well, it doesn't matter anymore. He left with Snape and Bellatrix after Dumbledore was killed. I don't know where the hell they went," I said. "But back to the subject: Dumbledore had started searching for the Horcruxes. The problem is, he can't help us finish it. We already found one tonight."

"Actually, we didn't," Harry spoke up.

"What? What do you mean, we didn't?"

"The locket was fake, Max. Which means, we don't know where the real Horcrux is."

"So that journey to the cave with Dumbledore was a waste, then, wasn't it?" Elle asked.

I nodded my head, "I guess it was. Not only that, but we have to find the other Horcruxes."

"Do you know what they are?" Ron piped up.

"And that's another problem we have. They could be anything," I said. "Which means, we'll have to start looking for them as soon as possible."

Roxanne rolled her eyes, shaking her head. "Did Dumbledore leave you this much information? Great. So the Horcruxes can be any object, and they can be hidden anywhere."

"Well, if you don't want to be a part of this conversation, Roxanne, then you can go upstairs right now and we'll forget that you were even here," I snapped.

"It's kind of hard to forget me. I think it's my irresistible charm," she said, smirking to herself.

"Or it's your big mouth," I muttered.

"Can you two stop fighting long enough for us to talk about the damn Horcruxes?" Elle intervened.

"Thanks, Elle. So, anyway, I think it's best if Max and I go look for the Horcruxes alone--"

"Woah, wait a second, mate," Ron cut Harry off. "You and Max just go alone? What about us?"

"Yeah, honestly, you really think we're going to let you two just go look for the Horcruxes by yourselves? As much as I admire your courage, none of us are going to let you two just go looking for them without us," Hermione said.

"Yeah, you two need us," Ron added. "You need all of us."

"Well, apparently, all Maxine needs is a boyfriend to complete her perfect life..."

"Roxanne!" Ron, Elle, and Hermione scolded at Roxanne at the same time. She rolled her eyes in response and shook her head again.

"Well, we can't all go. That's too many people already. I mean, all six of us can't be together. That just makes things easier for Voldemort. He'll have bigger groups of Death Eaters coming after us," Harry pointed out to the rest of the group.

"Then why don't we split up?" Elle suggested. "Three in each group. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and Maxine, Roxanne, and me."

"What? I'm not gonna be stuck with her!" Roxanne protested, pointing at me. "It's bad enough she takes over my bedroom every summer."

"Maybe Elle's right," Ron said. "Splitting up might not be a bad idea. We might be able to find the Horcruxes faster if we do split up. We would just have to reunite somewhere later on."

"How will we be able to stay connected with each other, though?" Harry asked. "Something could happen to one of us and nobody would ever know because we never stayed in contact with each other. There's no way this plan will work."

"But it's all we got, Harry," I said. "If we want to finish off Voldemort, then this is what we'll have to do. We don't have another choice."

It was true. Voldemort was getting stronger by the minute, and trying to find the Horcruxes in one big group was not the best idea. Everyone had their breaking points, and being stuck in the middle of nowhere was an easy place to snap. For me, though, I didn't want to be stuck with Roxanne. We never saw eye to eye, but if being stuck with her meant that we were one step closer to defeating Voldemort, then I was going to have to live with her being around more often.

Harry huffed a sigh and finally gave in. "Fine, we'll split up. When do we want to split up?"

"Well, we can do it right after Bill and Fleur's Wedding," Ron said. "It gives us time to say goodbye and whatnot."

"Plus, we can't really do anything until the Trace is lifted off you two," Hermione added, referring to Harry and I since we were still sixteen.

"So after the wedding is perfect timing. It's the day after they turn seventeen," Ron added.

"So it's settled, then. We split up after the wedding," Harry announced. "We can't let the others know about this."

"What about Lysander?" Roxanne suggested. "His family is nothing but Death Eaters. They might know where Voldemort hid the Horcruxes at."

"Rox, it's just us six that will be involved in this," Ron said. "It's too dangerous for anyone else to come."

"Ron's right," Harry said. "This has to be just between the six of us. So, do we all agree on the plan, then?"

We all nodded in agreement and decided to retire for the night. Elle, Hermione, Roxanne, and I headed upstairs first and got into bed once we were in our dorms. Unfortunately, since the sixth year dorms were for two people, I was stuck with Roxanne.

"Try not to snore tonight, will you?" I said, crawling into bed and drifting off to sleep, wondering if our plan was a good idea or not.

"Oh, piss off," Roxanne retorted before she fell asleep.

Now I was really beginning to think if being stuck in the middle of nowhere with Roxanne was really worth it.