t w o

"And here, our tour ends. This is the Great Hall, or the Dining Hall, whatever suits your fancy." she shrugged. "It's where we have our meals, the O.W.L.s and N.E.W.T.s are held here when the year is about to end and the occasional balls are also held here."

Francis nodded. "Merci, Maeve. I think I saw you in the choir yesterday, yes? With a frog?"

Maeve grinned. "That's me."

"How long have you been singing?" the French boy questioned.

"Ever since I could remember, really." Maeve chuckled. "My mom introduced me to it. We used to sing together all the time. She loved it, singing." she took a deep breath before shaking her head. "So what's your favourite place at Hogwarts so far?"

"I loved the view from the Astronomy Tower." Francis answered. "You can see the whole castle."

Maeve nodded. "It's a popular place for students who... um – nevermind." she blushed, shaking her head.

"You don't like the Astronomy Tower?" he asked, his brows furrowed.

"Well, I don't have anything against it." she explained, "But I prefer more quiet places. Not that the Astronomy Tower isn't quiet, but there's a lot of sixth and seventh years who go there to... in a word, hook up. I like the Black Lake, or the Greenhouse maybe, when Professor Sprout isn't harvesting Mandrakes, that is."

Francis smiled, taking in her answer and Maeve's eyes trailed to the Clocktower that was visible through the hall windows.

"Blimey! I'm late for Potions." she shrieked. "Um – I'll see you later Francis, bye!" she waved hurriedly before dashing out of the room and to the kitchens, where she took her books from her dorm. It would make her later, but the Potions classroom was in the Dungeons, as was the Hufflepuff common room. She figured arriving late for Snape's class was worse than arriving late with her books at least.

Maeve soon came to regret her decision when all eyes were on her as she opened the door to the Potions classroom.

"Kingston." Snape scowled. "And what may I ask, are you doing here fifteen minutes late?"

"I am so sorry, professor." she frowned. "I... slept in."

"Twenty points from Hufflepuff for tardiness. Stay back after class. Professor Sprout will be hearing about this." he sighed with a blank face. "Well, what're you standing there for? Take a seat next to Mr Malfoy."

Maeve's eyes widened as she looked around the class, and to her displeasure, Hannah Abbott, Susan Bones, Megan Jones and Justin Finch-Fletchley were already seated around a table. Thinking it to be wise not to crib in front of Snape for fear that he might take more house points away, she walked to the third bench by the left, where Draco, Pansy and Theodore watched her approach.

For the next hour, she tried to focus on Snape's lecture, which was impossible with Draco snickering to Crabbe and Goyle who were seated diagonally behind them. It was clear Snape had separated him from his goons for that very purpose. Of course, the professor, partial as he was, proceeded to turn a blind eye to the boy's antics.

Finally, when Maeve thought she couldn't bear it anymore –

"Draco?" Pansy asked, eyeing Maeve from her seat across the table.

"Yes, Pansy?" Draco rolled his eyes, turning away from Crabbe and Goyle.

"Cut it out. Some of us are trying to study here." she muttered.

Draco scoffed and shot her a look, but said nothing for the remaining three minutes of the lecture regardless.

"Turn to page twenty-four of your textbooks, where you will see how to create Doxycide. You have the remainder of the lesson to achieve the potion." he said in his ever so monotonous voice.

"So why'd you lie to him?" Draco asked as Maeve gathered the ingredients for Doxycide.

"Huh?" Maeve squeaked, bewildered the guy was even speaking to her.

"Goyle said he saw you leave the Hufflepuff common room early this morning. You told Snape you slept in." Draco shrugged.

Maeve's eyes widened. "So Gregory's stalking me now?" she whisper-shrieked.

"Who's Gregory?" Draco made a face.

"Your friend. Gregory Goyle." Maeve explained, finding it amusing that he had forgotten his friend's name. But that amusement was overcome with the absolute terror of Goyle following her every move.

"Oh, right." Draco nodded without any remorse. "Anyway, why'd you lie?"

"I was doing a friend a favour." she mumbled, her index finger following the text in her book as she tried following the instructions as precisely as she could. "Now could you focus on the potion? It would help both of us."

"Don't talk to me like that, Hufflepuff." Draco sneered and Maeve internally rolled her eyes.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but you talked to me, first."

Two laughs were heard from across the table and when Maeve looked up, she saw one Theodore Nott stifling a laugh and one Pansy Parkinson smirking at her appreciatively.

"My father will hear about this." Draco threatened.

"Oh, I'm sure he will." Maeve quipped, having no idea where the sudden confidence to stand up to a Slytherin was coming from, but she had no intentions of stopping. "Just like he heard about you getting scratched by a Hippogriff because you couldn't follow the simplest of instructions."

Theodore let out another laugh and Pansy just smiled down at her cauldron, looking what Maeve suspected to be impressed.

Draco just huffed and said nothing for the rest of the class.

As soon as it ended, Draco grabbed his satchel and walked out of the class and Susan, Megan and Hannah came running to Maeve. "We're so sorry, May. We were waiting for you to show up but when class began, Snape made Justin sit with-"

"It's fine, Meg." Maeve assured. "It was a bit nerving at first, but in the end, it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be."

"Right..." Susan eyed her, wondering if her friend was fine. "Well, we'll see you at lunch. Tell us what Snape has to say."

Maeve nodded before she packed her satchel and went to the front of the class, where Snape sat, looking through what she supposed was an album.

"Um – professor." she cleared her throat and the man looked up.

"Maeve, yes." he frowned, putting the album away into one of his desk drawers. "Is it going to be your intention to arrive late every time you have Potions in the morning?" he questioned.

"Again professor, I don't know what came over me. I usually never sleep in. I won't be late again. I promise." she swore.

"Well, your tardiness isn't all I need to talk to you about. I see that you almost got a P in your final exam last year. I won't have any of my students failing my class this year. Which is why, I've asked one of my best students to tutor you." he sighed, pinching his forehead.

"Really? That would actually be really helpful professor." Maeve's eyes lit up. "Who is it?"

"You'll be meeting Mr Zabini in the library every alternate day. You two can discuss timings according to both of your schedules. He'll be tutoring you."

"And he agreed to this?" Maeve asked, genuinely surprised a Slytherin would agree to help someone who wasn't a Slytherin. Especially someone as introverted as Blaise Zabini.

"For extra credit, yes. Go on now, I can't have you late for another class." Snape shooed her away.

The Hufflepuff left the room with a huge grin on her face. Her grin turned into a look of confusion when she saw a Slytherin leaning against the wall next to the door.

"Pansy? What're you still doing here?"

"You've got Defense Against the Dark Arts now, don't you?" the girl shrugged, not bothering to answer her question.

"Yes." Maeve answered.

"Great, so do I. Come on." she said, walking ahead.

Maeve caught up to her. "Thanks for telling Draco to stop talking in class. It really was quite distracting."

"Eh, he's a little weasel." Pansy shrugged.

Maeve sighed exasperatedly. "I know you didn't stay behind so we could walk to class together. What do you want?"

"Well isn't Miss Prissy Pants cunning?" Pansy smirked. "You're right. I may have underestimated you Prissy. Maybe you're not as weak as I thought you were."

"So? A lot of people aren't what you really think they are." Maeve shrugged.

"That's not the only reason I stopped by. You were supposed to give me the choir schedule at breakfast." she stopped, crossing her hands over her chest. "I waited."

"I didn't realize you cared so much about the choir." Maeve teased.

"I don't care about the choir." Pansy stood in front of her, blocking her path. "What I do care about, is my time. Why'd you ditch me?" she asked, her mood changing in the wink of an eye and Maeve nearly cowered in front of her stormy gaze.

"I told you, I slept in." Maeve mumbled, attempting to move past the Slytherin.

"Bullshit." Pansy scoffed. "Tell me or else I'm going to tell Flitwick you don't want to help me and you'll lose your spot in the choir."

"No." Maeve gasped, truly horrified. "You can't do that. You won't."

"Won't I?" Pansy smirked. "Answer. Now."

The Hufflepuff girl sighed. "Okay, I was doing a friend a favour. Elizabeth's been having a hard time juggling schoolwork and her prefect work so she asked me to give a Beauxbatons prefect a tour of the castle."

Pansy eyed Maeve, wondering if the girl was telling the truth. Then, with a huff, she turned on her heel and stomped in the direction of her next class.

_____

"It's the weirdest thing, really." Zach sighed as he and Maeve headed for the Great Hall so that the Champions could be announced. "She helps you with Draco and Goyle and the next moment she's threatening you?"

"Slytherins are complex creatures, Zach." Maeve muttered, hardly paying attention to her friend as her eyes scanned the pages of her Potions textbook. A week had passed and neither she nor Blaise had made any efforts to meet at the library. Snape had taken matters into his own hands and threatened to take house points as well as give them both detentions if they didn't follow his instructions. Which is why she was supposed to meet her tutor in the library the next day. "Besides, it was kind of my fault. I didn't show up when I said I would."

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean she can just threaten to kick you out of the choir. Especially if she knew how much it means-"

"Well, she doesn't." Maeve said curtly, closing her book before sighing. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you... let's just leave the Pansy topic alone, okay? Who do you think will be the Hogwarts Champion?"

"I actually think Cedric has a chance. He possesses all the qualities." Zach shrugged as they entered the Great Hall, where a considerable amount of people were already seated.

"There he is!" Maeve grinned, waving at the boy as he beckoned them over. "You excited?" she asked him as they sat with him and his other friends.

"More like nervous. I haven't seen him this sweaty ever since-"

Henry Chaudice was cut off by a furiously blushing Cedric. "No need to bring that up. But yes, I am nervous."

"Well, whatever happens, you're the greatest prefect ever." Maeve huffed.

"As a prefect, I take offence." Elizabeth frowned, sending Maeve a teasing glare and a wink to which the girl reacted by quickly looking away and blushing. "But given the circumstances, I understand."

"Here comes Professor Dumbledore." Susan hushed and indeed, almost all of the three schools were gathered around the flaming blue goblet, awaiting the names of the contestants.

The Durmstrang and Beauxbatons Champions were announced and everyone was holding their breath as the Headmaster unfurled the last piece of paper.

"The Hogwarts Champion, Cedric Diggory!" he announced proudly and the entire Hufflepuff table, as well as every Hogwarts student, erupted into blasphemous cheer.

Maeve watched proudly as he rose and joined Victor Krum and Fleur Delacour.

Before Professor Dumbledore could finish his concluding statement, another piece of paper revealed itself. And not a single person cheered when Harry Potter's name was called.

"That's impossible." Megan whispered as everyone saw the boy walk up to the front. "No one below seventeen can enter."

"Well when it comes to Harry, anything's possible." Maeve blinked as the boy stood awkwardly beside Cedric.

_____

It had been a long evening. The shock of Harry being allowed to participate in the tournament had left some students in awe and others in anger.

"It's not fair." she heard a Ravenclaw grumble angrily as she left the Hall after dinner. "He gets to compete because he's 'The Chosen One'? This whole thing is rigged."

Despite recent events, she had the choir schedule ready in her hand to give to Pansy, but she hadn't seen the girl ever since the Champions were announced, and neither had they talked ever since Pansy had threatened her. The Slytherin was nowhere to be seen around the Great Hall or the corridors. She finally saw Theodore aimlessly walking through the corridors as she walked around the castle, trying to find Pansy.

"Theodore." she called out, jogging a little to catch up with the boy.

"Who's asking?" he turned around and then he saw Maeve. "Maeve Kingston. What do you want?"

"Do you know where Pansy is?" she asked with a small frown.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, his brows rising in suspicion.

"I need to give her the frog choir schedule. You're her friend. I figured you know where she is."

"Right. I forgot she was actually doing that." Theodore laughed. "I haven't seen her anywhere, which means she's probably in her dorm." he replied with a nonchalant shrug before turning back around and walking further down the corridor.

Maeve sighed, looking down at the sheet of paper with Pansy's name on it before an idea struck her. With a grin on her face, she ran back down the hallway and approached the Slytherin table.

"Gregory." she cleared her throat, and three curious heads turned around.

"What do you want?" Draco frowned in disgust.

"My business is with Gregory, not you." she answered tautly.

"Of course. Go ahead, Gregory." Crabbe teased the boy as Draco glared at her and Maeve internally rolled her eyes.

"Maeve." Goyle stood up and blinked, making sure he wasn't hallucinating that the girl was willingly talking to him. "What happened?"

"Could we talk?" she asked, eyeing the two boys behind him as they made smooching noises. "Alone, preferably."

"Of course." the boy nodded eagerly as they exited the Great Hall.

"I need a favour." she said, getting straight to the point. She didn't want to spend more time with him than she would have to. "I need you to get me into the Slytherin common room."

Goyle blinked once more, confused. "Why do you want to go there? Aren't you a Hufflepuff?" he asked cluelessly.

"Yes, Gregory, I am a Hufflepuff." she sighed patiently. "I have some business with Pansy and I'm afraid it can't wait until tomorrow." She had already been putting it off for a week, afraid of encountering the girl again. Maeve could only thank Merlin that Professor Flitwick had decided to cancel the first few practices because the Charms classroom would almost always be occupied by Beauxbatons or Durmstrang students giving presentations due to it being the best lit classroom at Hogwarts.

"I would, Maeve, but Draco probably wouldn't like it..." Goyle frowned.

"I'll do something for you in return." Maeve shut her eyes tight, not believing she was going to such lengths for a temperamental Slytherin. "I'll go out with you. As a date. But not to Hog's Head. The Three Broomsticks maybe."

"What?" Goyle's eyes widened.

"Yes." Maeve answered. "But just one date. We get one Butterbeer together, and that's it."

"We'll see how things go in the moment." Goyle shrugged.

"Sure." she pursed her lips in disgust, detesting the thought of even touching the boy. "Will you get me into the common room, then?"

"Okay, but we'll have to do it sometime late, when everyone is almost asleep. I'll meet you by the kitchens at eleven, and I'll get a spare robe just in case." he nodded.

Maeve figured the plan was quite sensible provided how daft Goyle proved to be in classes.

"Perfect." she smiled. "Thank you, Gregory."

_____

At precisely eleven, Maeve saw a burly figure approach her in the dark hallway. The only thing lighting the corridor was the moonlight filtering through the glass windows. She wasn't one for breaking rules and she was grateful she wouldn't have to sneak a long distance. Both Hufflepuff and Slytherin House were located in the Dungeons. The only difference was that Slytherin House was located underwater and Hufflepuff's common room overlooked the top of the Great Lake and the rest of the woods, which Maeve loved. But she couldn't help but wonder how things would look underwater.

"You look just as beautiful in the night, Maeve." Goyle grinned, looking at the girl dreamily.

"Thank you, Goyle. But let's keep the talk to a minimum. We can't have any prefects or even Peeves knowing we're out of bed." she whispered hurriedly, shrugging on the robe Goyle handed her. In full disclosure, she was more terrified of getting caught with Goyle rather than the punishments she would face for breaking the rules.

All time seemed to stop until the door to the Slytherin common room closed behind her. It was only then that Maeve felt as if she could breath. But soon enough, she was just as breathless when she saw the Slytherin common room. It was beautiful and luxurious. Multiple black leather sofas spread across the room with a considerable amount of armchairs around the fireplace, Slytherin banners and famous portraits hung on the walls and the entire room had a magnificent emerald green hue to it, courtesy of the pure lake water that shone under the moonlight.

"Come on." Goyle called, snapping her out of her daze and she nodded, following him down the stairs to what Maeve figured were the girls' dormitories. He stopped in front of a door. "This is Pansy's room."

"Are you certain?" Maeve looked at him worriedly. "I'm pretty sure we passed a door with a sign saying 'Fourth Year Girls'."

"Some parents pay extra for Slytherin students to have their own rooms." Goyle answered.

"Of course they do." Maeve mumbled under her breath. "Okay then. Thank you, Gregory. I'll see myself out when I'm done. Good night." she waved.

"Wear something pretty on our date!" he winked before leaving the hallway.

Maeve didn't hear anything. Maybe Pansy was asleep, like any rational human being. Maeve figured she'd just leave the piece of paper in her room and hopefully, Pansy would find it the next morning.

"Alohamora." she aimed her wand at the knob and a small 'click' was heard. Slowly, she opened the door and shut it behind her. She opened the door in the middle of someone screaming, the sound of something smashing against the wall was heard and Maeve let out a sharp cry, faintly recognizing Pansy's back facing her in the commotion.

Hearing the cry, Pansy turned around, her bloodshot eyes looking bewildered. "Kingston? What the flying fuck are you doing here? How'd you get in here? And who's robe is that?" she asked, confused.

"I um- the schedule." Maeve explained softly, holding up the piece of paper. "Pansy, are you okay?" she asked worriedly, looking at the wall in front of her under which what looked to be a porcelain figure lied shattered in pieces.

"Get out, Maeve." the tear-stained girl said angrily. "I don't know how you got here, but get the fuck out."

"Pansy you're clearly not okay." Maeve cautiously took a step towards the bed, where Pansy sat.

"I said, get out!" Pansy yelled, glaring daggers at her.

"No." Maeve gulped, terrified for her life but at the same time, concerned. "Let me help."

"I don't need your help. I don't need anyone's help." Pansy shut her eyes and grit out. "I won't repeat myself. Get out or I'll hex-"

"Stop!" Maeve cried out hysterically as Pansy's foot was about to touch the ground. "You'll hurt yourself." she said quietly, pulling out her wand. "Reparo." With that, the shattered pieces joined themselves together perfectly, as if they hadn't just been flung across the room.

Pansy just glared at her, not being able to make any sense of the situation. "You're not fine, and you don't have to tell me anything. I just hope, Pansy, for your sake, that you talk to someone about this. If I know one thing, it's that keeping things in never helps." she said wisely before placing the piece of paper on a table nearby. "I'll leave now." she said solemnly, turning around. Pansy said nothing as Maeve closed the door behind her and hurried off to her dorm. 

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