together we map the world { ki / mae }

MARCH

The academic pressure on OWL students had done nothing but intensify after they’d come back from the winter break. It was March now; there were only two and a half months left until exams. Just ten short weeks. At this point, the cohort were constantly being told how important everything was, and there was a rumour that someone in their year was illegally selling dangerous focussing potions (as a good prefect and certified narc, Billie had informed Professor Flitwick of this immediately). It was all a lot of pressure! Madam Pomfrey had cooked up a calming draught for for a couple of Extremely Anxious Students, and while Billie would never ask for such a thing, she probably could have used it; she herself had had several breakdowns (mostly in private, of course) that were ostensibly exam related.

And even so…

The blonde rested her head against the cool glass window, her gaze somewhere out amongst the faraway trees. They were doing a quick warmup quiz, taking turns asking the others questions for their written exams. Ki was asking, this time; he had his “exam voice” on. “Asphodel,” Billie answered distractedly, without looking. Despite the fact that she would probably burn immediately in the sunlight, she was jealous of the people on the other side of the library, whose windows were south-facing. The grounds looked ridiculously lovely today; the trees had all started growing leaves and early-blooming bluebells had appeared at the edge of the forest. She sighed, turning back to the others and feeling immediately disheartened at the stack of library books they’d gathered for today.

Killian was firing questions in the background. Billie’s gaze wandered down the spines, noting which ones she had and hadn’t read already. She gave a small nod, just to herself, then spoke. “It’s a doxy egg, but Killian, Mavis.” She looked at each of them in turn, but then glanced back at her fellow prefect, because Billie’s instinct was that Mavis was the more adaptable of the pair. She tried to speak like what she was about to say mattered very much, as if she had a Very Serious Proposition for them. When other people wanted to change plans, Billie rarely protested, but she was never the one to initiate it. She hadn’t ever called off studying; it would be very out of character for her, especially not now that they were so close to exams. But... it was so pretty outside.

“I just wonder if… We’re absolutely sure we want to be studying today. Indoors.” She bit her lower lip, biting back a small smile.

Not ten minutes later, the three of them were halfway to Hogsmeade.

“Right,” said Killian, flipping over his flashcard to confirm that Billie was right and his own unvoiced guess of Elysium had been incorrect. That was another one right for Billie, wrong for him. He marked it down on the edge of the scrap parchment, picked up another flashcard with another question — “Right, this one is for Potions, what ingredient turns the Girding potion pink?” It was either the doxy eggs or the dragonfly thorax, he thought, trying hard to tune out the joyful noises from outside.

Billie was distracted, and so was he — under the table, his left hand brushed against Mavis’s, then curled around it, like her warmth would ground him enough to focus on this stupid bird name exam. He hated OWLs! He hated it. If he was in normal school he would have time before his GCSEs, some time before having to trap himself inside during such a lovely day outside.

At least it was with Mavis and Billie — his girlfriend and one of his best friends. With anyone else — well. How could anyone stay inside on a day like this?

Billie answered — doxy eggs, and she was right again — and then called their attention to her. I just wonder if… We’re absolutely sure we want to be studying today. Indoors.

Killian blinked, then grinned.

—

It was colder than it looked outside, the wind cutting through his robe. Killian had an arm slung around Mavis’ shoulder, pulling her close to steal her warmth as he plotted out loud. “Right, so warm drinks first, then I hear Honeydukes has something new for Easter, and then — then what?” He looked to the girls, an easy grin on his face, bag slung across his shoulders heavy with study materials all but forgotten.

When it came to ignoring responsibilities and going on adventures, it was typically Magnolia or Josie making suggestions. And certainly not Billie, the academic, Prefect, Ravenclaw of the group. They had been studying for a while now, but Mavis had been distracted from the start. It wasn't the outside that distracted her, though; it was the cute wizard holding her hand under the table. She watched Killian with a smile as he quizzed Billie, trying to recall the answers she knew, but memorizing the shape of his jawline instead. As if under a spell, Mavis snapped back to reality when Billie posed a new question, and the Gryffindor witch was packing up her books in a flash.

They left the stuffy castle behind and were greeted by the sunlight. With Billie beside her and Killian's arm around her shoulder, Mavis felt like she was on top of the world. Much better than studying, she allowed herself to think and smiled as she let herself off the hook for not stressing over OWLs for the first time in months. They deserved this; they had earned this.

"Oh, can we stop by Scrivenshafts? I'm nearly out of ink." Mavis had about seven unopened jars of Hogwarts approved blue and black ink, but it was sparkly pink she was after, and she felt no need to explain that to her friends.

“No need to plan every minute, Killian,” Billie chastised airily, a small smile on her face as she glanced his way. It was funny coming from her, to him; she’d shared all of her favourite studying stationery and helpers with him months ago, from magical dictation calendars to auto-complete lists. She wasn’t one to bring up her own schedules as any kind of opposition to other people’s suggestions, but she did love her  planners.

“Good idea,” Billie said, thinking that she could always do with more stationery supplies, too. Something she and Mavis had in common, even if she wasn’t so drawn to the glitter and the bright colours. She gave her a smile, too. “I think I want a milkshake,” she added. It was quite cold out here, but it would probably be warm enough for one when they went inside. Which would be soon, she thought, because even though it wasn’t warm at all, she knew her cheeks would burn if she stayed in the direct sun for too long. She tugged the edges of her sleeves down absentmindedly.

The blonde glanced at her friends, the small smile lingering as she looked back ahead. After coming out of her relationship, Billie had really started noticing Hogwarts’ couples more. She found herself curious about so many little details; did they go on dates in Hogsmeade? Did they share friends? Were they in the same year? Did they kiss in empty classrooms?

Billie had been just a touch nervous when she’d first suspected that Ki and Mavis might get together. As much as she tried to keep all of her feelings about Phillip, and the breakup, and her own excavation of her past trauma, contained, she and Killian had really been growing close; he seemed to know what to ask to get her to open up. He pushed her — gently — to share. She’d been so grateful, every step of the way. So nervous, then, to lose that safe, close space.

On top of that… She hadn’t really had any male friends who’d had a girlfriend before. Owain had sort of been her friend, but she only knew him through Barbie, so it was simple. Phillip had been so jealous of Killian, and she’d been nervous to be on the other side of that, and anxious about what it might do to the dynamic of the group, especially now that she was starting to feel (a little) less like an impostor with them. In a less rational moment, she’d imagined slowly extricating herself from Killian and the rest of them socially so that things would be easier for them all.

But… It didn’t seem to be a problem. She and Ki were closer than ever. She and Mavis were closer than ever. It was easy.

Best keep it so, she thought, gently and intentionally turning left rather than right as they got to the town’s main strip of shops, leading them away from the cafe she and Phillip used to go to. “Just in here, maybe?” she asked the others, gesturing to one of the small, cozy cafes on the other side of the street. She’d let them pick.

“What’s wrong with planning!?” Killian shot back, only half indignantly. Planning was good! When he didn’t plan time slipped away from him, first minutes, then hours, then weeks if he wasn’t careful. Dad was the same way — without the structure of workweeks and weekends he fell apart. Buckley family vacations were carefully scheduled around this.

But Billie was teasing him, and that brought a smile to his lips.

His hand, resting on Mae’s shoulder, tightened a little bit, trying to squeeze his affection out of his hand and into her skin. “Sounds good to me,” he agreed, nodding at his girlfriend's (girlfriend!) suggestion.

His eyes drifted up and to the side, taking a quick mental tally of how much coin he had on his person. Certainly enough for ink, some more planner parchment, but maybe not much more in magic money. He frowned - would it last the years Hogsmeade’s weekends? He wouldn’t have a chance to get to Gringotts before Easter, and Easter was always tricky to slip away from family to Diagon Alley. He couldn’t imagine being muggleborn and not living in London. How awful that must be! Of course, maybe there were wizarding avenues and banks in every town and hamlet. How was he to know?

 â€œA milkshake? In this?” He laughed, not unkindly. He was teasing. They were teasing! It was lovely. It was all so much easier than he had imagined it would be. His best friend, his girlfriend, and him, just out and about in the village. It felt as natural as anything.

There were an astounding number of cafes in Hogsmeade. Killian wondered how crowded they could possibly be outside of the student weekends. It didn’t seem like a great business model. Billie turned them all down a street. Killian’s eyes lit up. “How about this one?” They had a chai drink at this one — it wasn’t particularly good chai, not that Ki knew what good chai was supposed to taste like, but it was decent and a change from the standard assortment of teas and butter beers. Nora had a boyfriend who had brought some sort of mix over one Christmas, and Killian had enjoyed the taste.   

No objections? Killian steered them in, holding the door open for both the girls.

While Mavis had not expected them to turn down her suggestion to visit Schrivenshafts, she still smiled brightly when they agreed. These were the sorts of plans Mavis just loved to make. And it seemed as though they were all in agreement: fun things only, right now. The teen witch would take a Shopping List over a Reference List any day, honestly. When Billie mentioned milkshakes, Mavis joined Killian and laughed cheerfully. She snuggled against him as best she could, fighting back the shiver. The sun was shining, but it was still chilly out, and warm tea or milk chocolate was far more Mavis’s speed. Then again, Mavis was a summer girl, and Billie was almost certainly a winter child.

“Ooh,” She said suddenly, her smile growing, “I hope they have those charmed sprinkles. You know, the ones they had last June.” Raising her shoulders quickly and then letting them fall with excitement, Mavis recalled the magical little candies that swam around the top of the milkshake like little Quidditch players flying. They were cute, and the Falmouth Falcon ones had tasted like licorice.

Billie led them past a few cafes, and Killian led them past a few more, but Mavis wasn’t picky; she followed until they decided. Mavis moved inside, already missing Killian’s warm arm around her shoulder, and scoped out the place for a booth. “Oh, that one’s open.” She said, pointing to a booth not far from the large hearth but not too close to the kitchen, and tucked a bit of hair back behind her ear.

“In what?” Billie asked with polite incredulity, her small smile contained for now, but clearly threatening to become a bigger one. She held up a hand, palm to the blue sky overhead. “It’s sunny.” She raised her eyebrows at him as if he'd said something puzzling. Her gaze drifted to Mavis as she spoke about sprinkles. No, Billie had no idea what she was talking about. "I hope so too," she said anyway, smiling.

Out of habit, Billie let Mavis go ahead of her as they stepped inside. The entrance was quite narrow, with the counter on one side and several shelves of breads and pastries on the other. It was like a small room, opening up at the opposite end to the seating area. The blonde realised her earlier mistake and she shifted to the side, trying to be subtle about letting Killian go ahead of her; surely he’d want to sit with his girlfriend. She gave the older lady by the counter a soft smile on her way past.

Billie followed them — Mavis naturally leading the way — to the table that had been picked out. “I think it’s order-at-the-counter,” she said, unclasping her cloak and folding it to place beside her. She slid neatly into her seat, brushing her skirt underneath her legs, glancing once out of the window to her right.

She loved the ease of it, and clearly would have been quite sad if things hadn’t gone so smoothly, but Billie was jealous of the ease, too. The way the pair of them fit — not just together, but into their social group — the way she could third-wheel with them right now and feel comfortable, and not at all like one (or both) of them didn’t want her around. She and Phillip had had their own world, decorated with whatever colours they desired, but they hadn’t ever had this.

She nudged the one menu on the table over to the other side.

"In this chill, good Lord, Bee!" He was rolling his eyes, the shortened nickname rolling off his tongue with ease, the apples of his cheeks almost hurting from smiling too much. "You want to freeze inside and out, you go for it, mate." Mavis found it amusing too, it seemed. She squeezed closer to him, and the arm wrapped around her shoulders squeezed a little more. God, but this was lovely, the extra warmth against his chest, the light rumble of her laugh vibrating through his ribs. Ki ducked his head down, pressing a quick cold kiss to the top of Mae's head. "You lot know it's March, right?" Killian mock groaned, laughing again. He wouldn't mind the sprinkles, though. The Holyhead ones had tasted of both maraschino and fresh cherries, crisp and sweet and tart against the cream.

Mavis ducked out of his arm when they entered, bolting ahead to scope out seating. Billie followed, giving Killian a moment to look at the back of both of their heads. It was so nice. At first glance the girls had nothing in common, but there was more to the both of them. Killian knew that, had known that for ages -- it was such a relief that they were realizing that, too. Sliding into the booth next to Mavis, across from Billie -- it felt like a scene from Grease or something. So natural and right and teenaged.

His cloak came off in short order, as did his scarf; he had forgotten his gloves, so he rubbed his hands together to warm them for a moment, glancing at the menu as Billie passed it their way. "Not like we need one, right?" Killian teased. "One hot cocoa, one unseasonal milkshake, one reasonable chai." He pointed around the group as he declared it -- Mae, Bee, him. "And -- ooh, beignets? A basket of those, and?" He glanced between the girls. "Whatever you'd like. I'll go order." 

He reached into his bag, glancing at the mix of wizarding and normal money rattling about within, and grimaced. "Might need to go Dutch on it, though. Unless they take pounds here."

Mavis took the lead as they headed inside, the smell of fresh-baked bread and tea hitting her senses pleasantly. Instantly she felt even cozier here than before if that was even possible. It was quieter than the streets of Hogsmeade but far more exciting than the library, a perfect middle ground. She slid into the booth and smiled as Killian sat down beside her. It wasn’t that long ago that Mavis would have been sitting at a table with Magnolia, staring longingly at the cute couples cozied up in a booth, and now here she was. In a couple. With a boyfriend!! And Killian was good at being a boyfriend. He was kind and cute; he remembered the stupid stories she told him and didn’t seem too annoyed when the glitter from her sweaters rubbed off on his jackets.

And like the cherry on top of an already perfect dessert, Mavis felt as if she had inherited Billie in the arrangement too. Not that Billie was property (Mavis knew that, unlike the blonde’s ex). Growing closer to Killian allowed her to become better friends with Billie, and Mavis just loved having another girlfriend. Mavis looked to her boyfriend as he listed off their drink choices, and she giggled lightly, one hand raising to cover her mouth in an attempt to be cute like the flirty older girls she’d seen do it.

“Maybe some biscuits?” She offered, realizing they already had quite a list of things, but Mavis assumed they would give Killian a tray for it all. Or, you know, levitate it over for him; it was a magical establishment after all. The Gryffindor witch watched as Killian moved to look inside his bag and gave him a sympathetic smile when he turned back to them, noticing the uncomfortable look on his face. “I’ve got some sickles,” She mentioned, pausing to squeeze his arm gently before moving to dig into the pockets of her cords. Mavis pulled out a few coins, nothing much, but certainly enough to cover her share. She’d spent all summer babysitting for days exactly like this, though her funds were quickly depleting, and they still had months to go.

But honestly, could one have too many fluffy quills? Mavis didn’t think so.

Unseasonal milkshake.

“Mint chocolate chip,” Billie interjected in the politest way possible, making sure her gloves and beret — things she’d grabbed from her dorm but hadn’t even put on — were still neatly in the pockets of her cloak. She folded her hands in her lap patiently. When Ki mentioned going Dutch (a new term for her), Billie quickly moved to retrieve her purse from her cloak.

“Oh, er…” She hadn’t had a plan for food. “Banana choc chip muffin,” she said, naming the first delicious cafe thing that came to mind. How would that go with a mint milkshake? Maybe she should have thought that through.The blonde reached across the table to place a few silver coins in her friend’s hand, her eyebrows raised at him, challenging him to question her order again.

She leaned back in her chair with a small smile.

Killian disappeared to go and order their food and drinks and Billie glanced out of the window beside her, placing her hands on the table in a large patch of sunlight, her clear nailpolish glinting just a little. “This is nice, isn’t it?” she said to Mavis, wanting to communicate more but not really feeling inclined to lay it out explicitly. Today was the first in a very long time that this feeling, this light, happy feeling in her chest, had sustained itself for more than a few minutes. She was nervous to prod it too much, for fear of it disappearing.

When Killian slid out of the booth, a long list of orders in tow, Mavis smiled after him. Her elbows rested on the table, and her chin on her hands, as she watched him walk away and then turned to Billie and agreed. "It is," Mavis said quietly and followed Billie's gaze out the window. While it was not summertime outside, the sun coming through the window was warm, and Mavis loved it. "Who knew it'd be you to suggest blowing off OWL prep." The Gryffindor added with a cheeky smile.

"Not that I'm complaining." She added quickly, mostly because she didn't want Billie to think she was blaming her for something Mavis was excited to do. They had been doing nothing but studying lately, and her brain felt like mush. "I think if I have to compare the Locomotion, Summoning, and Levitation charms one more time, my whole brain might float away." Mavis sighed dramatically, lifting her chin from her hands long enough to demonstrate the way her brain might fly away from her head, fingers dancing across the air between them.

Mavis giggled, then smiling at the other fifth year and finding comfort in knowing she wasn't the only student worried about the upcoming exams. Something about suffering together made the weight a little easier to bear.

“Oh, well, I —” Billie started to respond, to defend her status as a Massive Nerd or something, but stopped when the Gryffindor girl added to her sentence. She paused for a beat, then smiled, feeling a little embarrassed because she wouldn’t have thought she’d be the one suggesting they blow off OWL prep, either. Especially not given the fact that she oscillated through all levels of anxiety regularly; she’d had another OWL-related breakdown alone in the greenhouses just last week.

Mostly OWL related, anyway.

“I completely agree,” she said, some small part of her feeling relieved to be speaking about exams even though she ostensibly didn't want to be. “I'm fairly I run through lists of potion ingredients and plant qualities while I sleep.” At least that would explain why she’d been getting so little of it. Billie sighed a wistful sigh, then tore her eyes away from the window to look at Mavis. They were almost the exact same height, she thought. “You two are so sweet, you know,” she said, affectionately, lowering her voice a little and glancing in Ki’s direction briefly.

Mavis nodded while Billie spoke and tacked on an "Exactly!" when the Ravenclaw had mentioned studying in her sleep. It was a pandemic, it seemed, and Mavis felt some sense of kindship because they were all going through it. As much as OWL prep sucked, she felt lucky to have friends to lean on in times like this. She was thankful for that, and snacks, and of course, for Killian. If not for those things, she wondered if she'd have any hair left; the teenager was sure it would have all fallen out from anxiety and nervous twisting by now.

Billie mentioned Killian, and Mavis felt like she might gush as her shoulders raised a little. "Do you think so? Really?" She asked, that dreamy look back on her face as she moved to look at her boyfriend still waiting patiently in the line. He was so thoughtful, offering to get the order while the two of them remained comfortable in the booth. Honestly, everything Killian did was perfect in Mavis's eyes. They were very much still in that honeymoon phase of the teenage relationship, and she was Smitten.

"He is so sweet." She said with another smile, and then Mavis chewed on her lip for a moment. Leaning closer to Billie, her voice was lower when she spoke again. "Is it weird... to talk about this stuff... I mean since.. well, you know?" She didn't want to bring it up, didn't want to say his name as if it would somehow invoke bad karma, but Mavis felt the need to ask.