s i x

"Honestly Cedric, was that really necessary?" Maeve groaned as the two made their way back to the Hufflepuff common room after dinner.

"I don't get it. Don't you like Francis? I thought you'd be over the moon." he continued to tease the brunette.

"I do like Francis." Maeve protested as they entered the kitchens. "But not in the way you think. I don't like anyone, okay Cedric?"

"Well maybe you don't like him now, but you hardly know him. Just give him a shot, please?" Cedric pouted.

"I'm surprised you have so much free time on your hands what with Quidditch practice, prefect duties and oh, I don't know – preparing how to fight a literal dragon." Maeve glared. "I want you to be ready. I can't lose you too Ced." her shoulders slumped.

"And you won't." Cedric said firmly, holding her by the shoulders. "Trust me. I'll be completely fine."

"If you say so..." Maeve mumbled.

"Also, what's this Zach told me about you going out on a date with Goyle this weekend?"

"Oh don't remind me." Maeve whined, hiding her face in her hands while Cedric tapped the bricked wall that led to the Hufflepuff House. "I needed a favour from him and in return I agreed to go on a date with him."

"A favour from Goyle? What did you need?" Cedric asked with a slight frown.

"Don't ask." Maeve shook her head. "Have you finally gathered up the guts to ask Cho out yet?" she asked, as Cedric collapsed onto one of the bright yellow couches.

Cedric looked away, his cheeks going red.

"You haven't, have you?" Maeve scoffed. "Well I hope you do soon. Susan told me Harry's got a thing for her too." she teased.

"Harry as in Harry Potter?" Cedric asked, shocked.

"Is there another Harry in our school?" Maeve asked sarcastically. "All I'm saying it that instead of trying to get me a love life, you should start by working on your own." she smiled sweetly before heading off to her dorm.

_____

"See? You're doing much better when you're not surrounded by people." Maeve grinned as she and Pansy sat on the bank to the Black Lake.

"I guess..." Pansy trailed off. "Are you nervous?"

"For what?" Maeve asked, carelessly sleeping back on the soft grass as she stretched her hands up in the air.

"Well, your date with Goyle tomorrow. And Cedric's going in for the First task on Monday..." Pansy noted, lying down beside the Hufflepuff.

"Oh don't remind me about the date." Maeve groaned. "As for Cedric, well, I'm positive that he's ready for whatever the First Task is." she smiled, turning to face Pansy. "But yes, I am nervous about the date. I'm scared that he'll have too good of a time and keep pestering me even after the dreadful second date is over."

"I could help with that." Pansy said quietly, turning to face Maeve as well.

"Help with what?" the girl asked, confused.

"Well the whole reason you're in this mess is because of me." Pansy bit her lip before looking away with a small frown.

"Pansy, I'm in this mess because of choices that I made. You're not the one who made them. So the only person to be held accountable here is me." Maeve said calmly. "What are you going on about?"

"Well, it's nothing to boast about obviously, but I've been by Draco's side ever since first year. And so have Crabbe and Goyle. I know what makes Goyle tick – the things he can't stand. If you could sabotage your date then maybe he wouldn't want to go on another one with you." Pansy offered.

"And that would mean he wouldn't pester me anymore." Maeve realized with a wide grin on her face. "That's brilliant, Pansy!"

"You'll have to wear something purple – he loathes purple." Pansy's eyes glinted with mischief. "Oh and make sure you wear open-toed shoes with that."

"I don't own anything purple." Maeve frowned. "Or open-toed shoes."

"Don't worry. Daphne has a purple dress that she wears on Goyle's birthday and I own a pair of open-toed shoes. We do it to just to piss him off." she laughed. "You can borrow my shoes. And I'm sure Daphne wouldn't mind helping you out. You're quite growing on them all you know. Even Blaise."

Maeve smiled and nodded. "What else?"

"He hates girls with short hair, but I mean – we can't do anything about that." Pansy shrugged, looking at Maeve's gorgeous long brown locks that lay sprawled beautifully across the grass. "He hates people who think Quodpot is better than Quidditch. Oh and he'll absolutely lose his shit if he thinks you support Pride of Portree." she cackled.

"This just keeps getting better and better." Maeve sat up excitedly. "Tell me more."

"Well, he hates studies – for obvious reasons. And he cannot stand the smell of cinnamon at all. He's scared shitless of any magical creature – or any creature for that matter. So make sure you take your toad along on your date. He hates getting embarrassed – so make sure you're sitting somewhere where everyone can see you and act bonkers. Knock stuff around and act like a complete klutz."

Maeve nodded, listening intently.

"As a cherry on top, tell him things he could do to make his Quidditch moves better. That'll be sure to ruin his gigantic ego." Pansy smirked.

"That sounds formidable, Pansy." Maeve said, quite in awe.

"Well I'm formidable, Prissy." Pansy said haughtily, tossing her non-existent long hair behind her shoulder. "Meet me before dinner and I'll give you the dress and shoes. I'll meet you tomorrow morning by Zonko's to make sure everything is in place."

_____

The next morning, Maeve woke up before anyone else in her dorm. She'd decided that if she had to get rid of Goyle, she would have to take every step necessary – no matter what anyone else would think. The boy had been bothering her ever since their first year. She was eager to drop him like a bag of smelly Hippogriff dung.

By the time she was ready, she looked back at herself in the mirror while Susan and Hannah snored softly on either side of her bed. She looked absolutely hideous but Maeve was determined. With a confident look, she fastened a dark cloak around her neck, popping in the hood so that only her face was visible.

High-spirited, she made her way to the library, choosing to catch up with some of Snape's lengthy homework. Now that she had actually started paying attention in class and to Blaise's simpler explanations, the subject was rather fascinating to her.

Once it was finally time to go meet Pansy, she quietly made her way out of the castle, stopping by the alley next to Zonko's where she and Pansy had agreed to meet.

No later than a minute, the Slytherin was there. "Ready for your date, Prissy?" she smirked, assessing Maeve's appearance. "Why are you wearing that cloak and hood? It's not even cold." she scoffed, reaching over and unfastening the fabric. It fell to the ground at once as Pansy gasped and stepped back.

"Maeve – what the fuck?"

"Don't swear." the girl frowned. "Is it that bad?"

"Forget about whether it's bad or not, why'd you even do it?" Pansy asked, her eyes still wide.

"I'm desperate to get rid of him okay?" Maeve said, looking down guiltily. "And if that means chopping off two-thirds of my hair then I don't care. It'll grow."

For the first time since Maeve had talked to Pansy, the girl looked at her with pity. "You're lucky you look good with either length of hair, Prissy." she sighed, still taken aback. "A warning should've been in order. Goyle is going to absolutely freak." she admitted.

"Well, that is the plan." Maeve smiled sadly.

Without a word, Pansy reached ahead and touched the ends of the Hufflepuff's choppy hair. "Meet me by the Shrieking Shack as soon as your date is over." her face was blank.

"Oh, I promised Elizab-"

"It wasn't a question, Maeve." Pansy said impatiently, firm on her decision. "You better get going now."

Maeve frowned and bit her lip but nodded and headed for the Three Broomsticks.

The expression on Goyle's face when he first saw Maeve approach him by the inn's entrance was priceless.

"M- Maeve?" he sputtered incredulously, hardly recognizing the girl at first. "What happened to your hair?"

"Hi Gregory." she smiled sweetly. "I wanted to change things up a bit. Do you like it?"

Goyle looked horrified as he took her form in, his eyes contorting with disgust as he looked over her dress and footwear. "Let's go inside." he said somewhat distractedly.

Maeve walked in confidently and sat on a table somewhere in the centre while Goyle fetched their drinks. Almost everyone in the inn was looking at the odd couple.

"Oh! Let me help you!" she cried out as Goyle approached the table, pushing her chair back and entangling it with Goyle's legs, making the two mugs of Butterbeer crashing to his chest. "Oh Merlin, I'm so sorry!" she gasped, feigning panic.

Goyle's ears had gone red but he was still managing to keep his cool. "It's alright." he said tautly, his entire shirt stained with the yellow liquid. "How about we just talk?"

"Of course!" Maeve's eyes lit up. "Have you started palm reading in Trelawney's classes yet? It's fascinating! I can actually feel myself listening to the voices of the universe when I'm in the room. And the third-eye theory-"

"How about we talk about something that isn't about school? Or stupid Trelawney rubbish?" Goyle asked.

"Okay." Maeve shrugged, reaching into her bag and spraying herself with the perfume she had borrowed from Hannah Abott.

"Is that cinnamon?" Goyle asked with a scrunched up face as he smelt the air.

"Good eye." Maeve complimented. "I love it. It smells wonderful, don't you think? I wear it all the time."

"I've never seen you smell like cinnamon before." the boy asked with a confused look as he tried not to gag at the smell.

"That's odd? It's my favourite." Maeve answered, putting the bottle back in her bag. "So you like Quidditch right?"

That seemed to please Goyle as his frown was replaced by an eager smile. "I love Quidditch. What about you?"

"Quidditch is okay and all, but I prefer Quodpot. It's just... more exciting, you know? Like a better version of Quidditch." Maeve leaned back in her seat, smirking to herself.

"What?" Goyle's eyes widened as his fist went down on the table, "Quodpot and Quidditch are nothing alike! The purpose of Quodpot is to just put a stupid ball into a pot. Quidditch is much more superior –" he looked like he wanted to say more but decided against it as he looked away with a scowl.

"I don't know... most outcomes for Quidditch depend upon which team catches the Snitch, which depends mostly on the Seeker. If you think about it, Quidditch really isn't that much of a team sport." Maeve replied.

Goyle looked like the top of his head was about to blow off. "Do you even have a favourite Quidditch team?"

"Oh definitely." Maeve nodded excitedly. "The Pride of Portree is by far the best. Their playing style is just so ... unique, you know?"

"You support the Pride of Portree?" Goyle asked, his face going white. "Tell me you're joking."

"Nope." Maeve grinned, pleased. "I've been supporting them ever since I've learnt about Quidditch."

Goyle looked absolutely disgusted. He was about to say something when a croak was heard.

"What's that?" Goyle asked, his voice a mere whisper.

Maeve reached into her pocket and pulled out her frog. "Gregory, meet Devin. This is my pet frog." she gently kept the frog in front of Goyle who shrieked and jumped out of his seat.

Maeve pouted. "What's wrong?"

"I – Could you please put that thing away?" the Slytherin asked, scared.

"If you want me to..." Maeve frowned before taking the creature and putting him back in her pocket. "Let's talk more about Quidditch. You're a beater on the Slytherin team, right?"

The burly boy seemed more at ease as he sat down and nodded.

"Yeah, I was thinking and you'd do so much better if you just focused more on your Buldger Backbeat. Maybe then you finally would be able to defend your teammates and not be the worst player on the team."

"What?"

"Yeah, you're not the best. There's plenty of players in Slytherin who would be better Beaters than you-"

"What do you know about Quidditch?" Goyle grit his teeth when he had finally had enough and he stood up abruptly.

"Well, my best friend is Hufflepuff's Seeker so I like to think I know quite a bit."Maeve said arrogantly. "As I was saying-"

"This was a mistake. I'm sorry Maeve, but you are crazy. I can't go on with this date anymore." he shuddered in anger.

"But what about our second date?" Maeve asked innocently.

"There won't be a second date." Goyle said hurriedly before rushing out of the inn.

The Hufflepuff grinned in victory, hardly believing that Pansy's plan had worked. With a toothy smile, she practically ran to the Shrieking Shack, where she saw Pansy and Daphne waiting behind a tree.

Pansy opened her mouth to talk but Daphne was quicker.

"Merlin, Pans. When you said it was a little bad I wasn't expecting it to be a colossal mess!" Daphne slapped a hand to her mouth.

"Well can you fix it?" Pansy asked, scratching the back of her neck.

"Let's just say you're lucky I love you." Daphne muttered, pulling out a pair of scissors. "Crikey, Maeve did you cut your hair with a shard of glass?" the blonde girl pouted, reaching ahead and inspecting the girl's hair. "But your hair was so beautiful before. I swear, I'm going to kill Goyle." she frowned as she set to work, snipping here and snipping there.

"Speaking of, did it work?" Pansy asked with a smirk.

Maeve nodded readily but Daphne smacked her lightly on the head, making her stand up straight again. "Like a charm." the girl replied with a goofy smile. I don't think I'll have to worry about him any longer."

"Good to know my plan worked."

"Your plan?" Daphne asked incredulously. "You told her to cut off her hair?"

"No! She did it herself, I swear." Pansy said hurriedly and Maeve protested that it was her own doing as well.

After about fifteen minutes, the blonde fourth year was finally satisfied with her work.

Maeve felt around her scalp. "Well? How do I look?"

"I'm just glad it's longer than Pansy's at this point." Daphne admitted. "I salvaged what I could."

Maeve took a mirror Pansy handed her and her eyes widened. "Blimey, Daphne! This looks amazing! Thank you." the brunette turned around and gave the unsuspecting Slytherin a hug. "Honestly, it looks really good!"

"Glad I could help." Daphne smiled genuinely as she broke away. "Well I have to get on with Professor Binns' homework if I want a chance at passing the class. I've already asked for an extension about four times. "Bye you two. Oh and Maeve, if you're up for it, you can sit with us during the first task." the girl waved before hurrying to the castle, leaving Daphne and Pansy in silence.

"Honestly Pansy, I don't know what I would've done if it weren't for you." Maeve, who had teared-up reached over and hugged Pansy tight.

"Oh don't get all soppy on me now, Prissy." Pansy rolled her eyes jokingly but nevertheless hugged the girl back just as tight. "But you do, owe me one."

"Of course." Maeve smiled as they broke away. "What do you want me to do?"

"I know you don't not fancy anyone. Everyone likes someone." Pansy said, getting straight to the point.

Maeve bit her lip and contemplated telling Pansy about Elizabeth. So far, the girl had proved to bean utterly wonderful friend, and they'd grown quite close over the singing and Potions lessons.

"Okay." she decided. "I'll tell you."

Pansy grinned.

"It's Elizabeth... Daniels." she gulped, looking into Pansy's eyes, wondering if the girl would judge her now.

Pansy, who was fully expecting Francis' name to come out of Maeve's mouth, blinked. "Who now?"

"Lizzie. She's Cedric's co-prefect. I've fancied her... well almost since the first year, actually." Maeve had a goofy smile on her face, completely oblivious to Pansy's heartbroken expression.

"Elizabeth..." Pansy cleared her throat, her wall building back up. "...as in the girl who you ditched me for because you had to do a favour for her?"

"Well when you put it that way, it sounds cruel." Maeve pouted. "But yeah."

Pansy nodded solemnly. "So I'm assuming your dear Cedric doesn't know you're gay since he keeps trying to set you up with that French boy?"

"Yes." Maeve admitted. "You're actually the first person I've told. I trust you." she smiled with a soft laugh. "I trust Megan, Susan and Zach too of course." she added quickly, "But I have no idea what they would think of me if they get to know... Megan's parents are strict Christians." her face faltered. "I just had a feeling that you wouldn't judge me, you know? I feel safe around you." she looked down shyly.

The Slytherin couldn't help but form a small grin, despite how broken she felt, and despite the fact that she had no idea what a 'Christian' was. "Thank you, Prissy, for telling me."

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