Close Your Eyes (Maxima)

[Deleted]

Second Saturday in September

Ed was tired. He'd started Quidditch tryouts today and while he enjoyed seeing all the talent, it was also exhausting to try and work through it all to decide who he wanted to work on the team. So he decided to try out the Prefect Bathroom for the first time. It was all the way on the fifth floor, which was a bit of an inconvenience, but he couldn't help himself. He was interested to see it and decide how he felt about it. If it wasn't worth it, he didn't have to ever come back, and that was fine. At least he'd know for the future.

He stepped into the room, smiling when he realized he was alone. It was huge! He'd seen large bathrooms in the palace, but this was something else. Grinning, he turned some of the taps, grinning as he saw all the different colored water and bubbles filling the pool. He loved magic. It wasn't long before it was full. Ed glanced around and locked the door before undressing and getting in. It was so relaxing. Ed was enjoying himself, until he felt someone try to open the door. He glanced around, groaning when he realized his wand was just out of reach. Great.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

The fact that she had access to the Prefects’ Bathroom made the rounds and the deductions of House points worth it. With as many girls as she was sharing a dormitory, and as long as it took them all to get ready for the day or ready for bed (depending on the time), Max thought that it was nice to have the option of having one very large and luxurious bathroom to herself. With the password only known to the Prefects, Head Boy, Head Girl, and Quidditch Captains, the likelihood of coming across another person in there was minuscule.

The only other time that she had entered the bathroom so far had been to test out the password, but she didn’t think it would be occupied if she went a little bit earlier than she ordinarily would have. (Who could resist the lure of the notion of “self-care” when it involved a giant bathtub?) Max’s only gripe was that the bathroom wasn’t closer to her common room, though she supposed that the dungeons would ruin the ambience.

Once she got there, she spoke the password and was granted entry, not thinking much of it. As long as she locked the door after herself, Max thought, she’d be fine.

That plan, however, hadn’t accounted for the possibility that someone else would be inside once she entered. There, already soaking in the bathtub, was none other than Edmund Windsor. Max let out an audible gasp.

Walking in on anyone was bad enough. Walking in on a boy was slightly worse. Walking in on a boy who also happened to be Muggle royalty was, without question, enough to turn Maxima Greyback red in the face. Her one saving grace was that the bubbles in his bath covered anything too embarrassing.

“I-I’m so sorry,” she apologized rapidly, ready to turn for the door again. “I didn’t realize anyone was in here.” She wasn’t planning to breathe a word about what had just happened to anyone.

@edmund

[Deleted]

How the heck did someone get in here? He locked the door, so shouldn't he have had a little bit more of a warning before they actually opened the door and walked in. Edmund was annoyed, but that was mostly because he felt extremely embarrassed to be found this way the first time he came to this stupid Prefect Bathroom. 

He turned, seeing that the girl was bright red. His face felt hot as well, but Edmund was going to try and play this off as nothing. He knew the girl. She was a year younger than him, a prefect, so she definitely had reason to be here. He shook his head, forcing a chuckle. "It's all good. Guess my spell to lock the door didn't work like I thought it did," he told her. "Sorry to ruin your trip all the way up here." He paused. "Ummmm ... I'm ready to get out, if you want to wait outside the door for a minute." This was just so awkward! What was he supposed to do?


maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

There weren’t too many situations that were more awkward than walking in on someone else in a bathroom, yet Edmund Windsor’s reaction to her presence, fortunately, wasn’t one of anger. She was apologetic, of course; it was mortifying, but at least he was able to laugh (sort of) about it.

“It's all good,” he assured her. “Guess my spell to lock the door didn't work like I thought it did.” That it hadn’t, Max thought as she tried not to visibly cringe. “Sorry to ruin your trip all the way up here,” he told her, and at least she hadn’t had her heart set on taking a long bath.

Next time, Max thought to herself, she would be sure to knock first—loudly and repeatedly—before even trying to open the door.

There was a pause, and Edmund made a prolonged “um”. “I'm ready to get out,” he alerted her, “if you want to wait outside the door for a minute.”

Max didn’t need or want to see any more than she already had, for both of their sakes. She gave Edmund the quickest thumbs-up that she had ever given anyone and practically scrambled out the door. “Let me know when I can come in,” she told him before closing the door behind herself again.

Once she was out the door, Max caught her breath. Her face was red, without a doubt, but at least nobody else could walk in on Edmund while she was standing right outside.

@edmund

[Deleted]

Ed still couldn't believe that someone walked in on him in here. It was mortifying, but he was trying really hard to act like nothing happened. At least she seemed just as upset with the situation as he was. That was a relief. Hopefully she wouldn't go off and tell all her friends. He didn't really fancy a bunch of girls giggling and laughing at him for this experience, though Addi would find it hilarious if she ever found out. He wasn't going to tell her, that was for sure. 

He gave a sigh of relief when she left the room and then hurried to get out and dry off, putting his clothes on as fast as he could. He didn't think she'd come back in before he said something, but he also didn't want to take ages. "You can come in now," he called, after moving to the sink and running his fingers through his hair. He felt more self-conscious than normal, but he attributed that to the fact that she walked in on him while he was bathing. He shook his head, trying nto not think about it any more.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

Maxima waited outside the entrance to the bathroom, trying to act as though nothing had happened. Having someone else come across her standing there would only amplify her embarrassment, she thought, since they would inevitably ask why she was standing outside of the Prefects’ Bathroom like that. She would just have to tell them that it was occupied at the moment, which wasn’t a lie—it was occupied.

She looked down at her feet to avoid drawing attention to herself as she waited for Edmund to tell her that it was safe to come back in without catching him in some state of undress. Max wasn’t going to come back into the bathroom until she was told to do so. Estimating how long it would take him and then just barging back in on him seemed inconsiderate, especially since she hadn’t thought to knock before entering the first time.

To Edmund’s credit, though, he really didn’t take too long. It was only a few minutes or so—though Max wasn’t keeping count—before he spoke up. “You can come in now,” he called from somewhere beyond the other side of the door, and Max turned back around and opened the bathroom door again.

Edmund, fortunately, was dressed again, and he was standing at the sink. “I’m sorry about that, again,” Max told him in earnest. “It’s my first time in here, and I, um, didn’t think to knock before coming in…”

@edmund

[Deleted]

She came in, still looking embarrassed and Ed shrugged as he glanced around the room to give her a few minutes to gain her composure. “Let’s just say it was both of our faults and let it go. We could play the blame game for hours.” Then he went ahead and looked over at the girl, not really sure what to do now. Should he just leave or try to talk to her? A little conversation probably wasn’t a bad thing. He looked at her for a second, a little surprised at how familiar she looked. “Hey you’re in Slytherin, right? A … sixth year?” If she’d been in his year, he probably would’ve known her name, but Ed wasn’t particularly good at remembering people’s names unless they gave him a reason to. If he found out hers now, he probably wouldn’t forget it, but there were no guarantees on that.

maxima ruqayyah greyback

[maxima ruqayyah greyback]

“Let’s just say it was both of our faults and let it go. We could play the blame game for hours.”

Max nodded, knowing Edmund was right. It had been embarrassing enough for the both of them with only their knowledge of what had happened; they didn’t need all of Hogwarts plus the transfer students from Ilvermorny to find out. That was how rumors got started, and rumors at Hogwarts weren’t easily stopped.

“Hey,” Edmund suddenly spoke again, “you’re in Slytherin, right? A… sixth year?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “I am.” Max knew full well who Edmund was, though she guessed that most people at Hogwarts knew, as did anyone with any ties to the Muggle world. “I’m Maxima Greyback,” she added, “but mostly I’m called Max.”

@edmund

[Deleted]

Edmund was glad that the girl nodded when he asked her to let it go. Honestly, he wasn't sure if she was the kind of girl who would apologize repeatedly for something like this, but he would have no problem with leaving and forgetting this experience forever. If Addi ever found about it, she'd have a blast laughing at him for it. Yeah ... he'd rather that not happen. 

He nodded as she gave her name, "Well it's nice to meet you Max. I'm Edmund Windsor." He wasn't exactly sure if she'd know who he was, though part of him assumed she would. He was on the Quidditch team, captain this year, so if she followed Quidditch at all she should recognize him. And there was that thing about being muggle royalty, though Ed much preferred to not think about that if he could. It made him feel all awkward. 

Ed started gathering his things and then made his way for the door. "Well, I'll get out of your way now. See you around Max," he said before walking out the door and closing it behind him. There was no point in dragging out the meeting, was there? That would just make things more awkward, in his opinion.

maxima ruqayyah greyback
(Ed out)