e l e v e n

"Cedric?" Maeve looked up, hurriedly standing up as she wiped her tears. 

"What's wrong?" the prefect frowned, nearing her. "Why aren't you in class?"

"Why aren't you in class?" Maeve countered. 

 "Well I was on my way to Muggle Studies when I heard sobbing. And then I found you." Cedric frowned. "What's going on, Maeve?"

"I - nothing." the girl smiled. "I just didn't do so great on a quiz Snape had prepared for us today, that's all. Sorry to bother you."

Cedric didn't look as if he bought a word she'd said. "Look, I know we haven't spent as much time as I would've liked this year - what with the Tournament and Cho and I..." he sighed. "But that doesn't mean you can't talk to me about anything."

Maeve looked away, knowing that everything would spill out the second she glanced back at him. 

Cedric looked around. "I know I'm a prefect and that I'm supposed to set an example, but how about we go to the lake? I know that's your favourite spot on the grounds. Besides, you won't be afraid of anyone eavesdropping on us."

The Hufflepuff took a deep breath before she looked back at him and nodded. 

_____

"Are you feeling a little bit better now?" Cedric grinned, wrapping his Hufflepuff scarf around Maeve's neck to keep her warm in the chilly winter weather. 

"Yes, thank you..." Maeve smiled softly before they fell into silence. "Ced... there's something you don't know about me... and... well, I don't know how to say this."

"It's alright. Take your time." the boy held her hand in an effort to coax her. 

"It's been almost three years by now and I haven't told anyone." she sighed. "I don't like boys, Cedric." 

His brows scrunched together as he gave her a confused look. "I know. You told us all around a week ago, remember? That you don't like the boys at Hogwarts. Don't worry about it Maeve. There's so many boys other than the ones at schoo-"

"No." Maeve stopped him firmly. "I don't like any boys, Ced. Not romantically. I like girls." she clarified, her eyes searching his for any kind of reaction. 

Silence.

"So you're homosexual?" Cedric blinked, trying to process the sudden information. 

Maeve nodded, not having the courage to say anything. 

"And you've been hiding this all along... for three years?" his eyes widened. "May..." he frowned, hugging her tightly. "Merlin, I'm so stupid. And to think I kept trying to set you up with Francis." he chuckled, his voice coming out watery. 

"It's alright. You couldn't have known." Maeve squeezed him, feeling a lot better that someone who was such a huge part of her life now knew her better.

"Wait... but why were you crying?" Cedric pouted before his eyes burned with an anger Maeve had never seen on the kind boy's face before. "Did someone bully you after they found out?"

"What? No." Maeve shook her head hurriedly, trying to calm him down. 

And then she told him the story of how she had had a crush on Elizabeth for years. How Pansy and her had grown closer as friends. How unknowingly, she had started to develop feelings for Pansy. And how Elizabeth had confessed her feelings for her during the night of the Yule Ball. Right up until the part where Pansy had kissed her. 

"So... you like Pansy Parkinson?" he asked uncertainly. 

"I think so..."

"May, I'm all for your sexual identity here but I really don't think Pansy is someone you should be that closely acquainted with. Her parents were Death Eaters. Her brother works at Azkaban. She's bad news." Cedric said slowly. "I just don't think it would be good for you to date her. Granted that I don't know as much as I would like on the topic, my gut keeps telling me she's not a good influence."

Maeve wanted to shout at him. She wanted to grab him by the collar and shake him until he admitted that Pansy was not at all what he thought she was. Those thoughts were proof enough of how much her feelings for the Slytherin had grown. But she also had to consider Cedric's point of view. He had seen her just like Maeve herself had seen Pansy before she actually got to know her - a bratty and dangerous Slytherin with an influential family who was obsessed with Draco Malfoy. That's how almost everyone who didn't know Pansy had seen her since their first day at Hogwarts. 

"Well it doesn't matter now." she sighed, looking away. 

"What do you mean?"

"This brings us to why I was crying. Turns out Pansy was just upset about Draco leaving her in the middle of the night. She doesn't actually like me back." she said in a small voice before a tear escaped through one of her eyes. 

Cedric was quiet as his embrace around her tightened. "Well what did you tell Lizzie?"

"I haven't told her anything yet." Maeve answered. "I'm really confused right now."

"Then we'll figure it out together, okay? For now, focus on your mid-terms." Cedric grinned before sending her a wink. "Now quick, what are the ingredients of Wit-Sharpening Potion?"

"What?" Maeve glared as she broke away from him. "Are you seriously turning this into a quiz right now?" she gaped, her jaw wide open. "I wasn't lying you know. I did just give a very long Snape quiz right before you found me."

"Ten... nine... eight... " Cedric sent her a cheeky smile before continuing to count down. 

Maeve took her opportunity as she stood up and sprinted for the castle, once again surpassing a puzzled Viktor Krum who was training at the time. "You'll never catch me!" she laughed evilly just slightly hearing Cedric gasp behind her.

"You better get back here young lady." he yelled teasingly, shooting off after the wild Hufflepuff.

_____

Cedric and Maeve were just near the bridge when-

"Oh, hi Ced, hi Maeve."

Both Hufflepuffs came to a stop to look at the third Hufflepuff who'd spotted them. 

"Liz." Cedric's brow rose in surprise before looking back at Maeve. After a look of confirmation from the younger girl, he turned back to his co-prefect. "Um I... see Harry in the distance. I'll catch up with you both soon, yeah?" and with a quick wave to both the girls he jogged down the bridge to the Gryffindor boy.

"Um, hi." Maeve sent Elizabeth a nervous smile. 

"Hey." the prefect returned the gesture.

"I'm so sorry about last night." Maeve blurted. "I saw a..." she wasn't sure what to call Pansy anymore, "... person who looked upset. I didn't mean to leave you hanging, I swear." 

"I thought as much." Elizabeth laughed. "How about we sit down somewhere and talk about last night?"

Maeve's eyes twinkled, glad that she wasn't upset. "I'd like that."

"So... you like me?" Maeve asked shyly, her heart slightly fluttering at the thought but still aching because of Pansy's words. 

"Yeah, I do." Elizabeth smiled at her confidently as they sat side by side back by the lake. It was perfectly private - out of view from the castle and there was no one around. Just them, the bright sun and the gentle cold winter breeze passing by.

The former nodded, "You were right, you know. I like girls too." 

"It's just that-" Elizabeth hesitated before sighing, "You're still young Maeve, and I don't want to force you into something you're not comfortable with."

"I - no." Maeve said quickly, scooting over. "I like you too, Liz. I just - I'm not sure how to go about everything."

Elizabeth turned to Maeve and blinked. "You like me?"

"Yeah." Maeve blushed, scratching the back of her neck. "It's quite embarrassing but I've had this gigantic crush on you ever since my first year - when you defended me against those Ravenclaw bullies." 

"Really?" Elizabeth asked, letting the information sink in. "Wow. You did a mighty good job of hiding it. I had no idea." she chuckled nervously. 

The two fell into a comfortable silence as they stared at each other. And then Maeve saw Elizabeth's gaze turn to her lips. The latter took Maeve's chin gently as she caressed her cheek. "Do you mind?"

Maeve didn't know if it was the exhilarating adrenaline pumping through her veins because her long-time crush had finally reciprocated feelings for her or the fact that she just wanted a distraction from Pansy. But she nodded. "Not at all."

The kiss was definitely something Maeve had never experienced. It was so much softer than Pansy's aggressive hold - and although she didn't have much to compare to, she liked it better but in a different way. Maeve kissed back, her hands resting on Elizabeth's waist; holding her close. 

The two separated after a while. And then they both burst laughing because of the fact that the other felt the same way about them. 

"Have you ever had a girlfriend before?" Maeve asked, playing with Elizabeth's fingers as they both lied down next to each other. 

"Yes. One." Elizabeth replied. "It was during my third year summer. My family had taken a trip to the country. She was a muggle. It didn't last longer than the holidays."

Maeve nodded. Elizabeth had finally finally made a move. And Maeve had dreamed about the moment for so long now. If she was going to have a girlfriend, she was going to do it right. And that meant forgetting about Pansy which would take who knew how long. Even then, as she sat next to Elizabeth, she wished it was Pansy instead. "If you don't mind, I want to take my time with things." she breathed, her eyes searching Elizabeth's for a response. "This is still pretty new to me. And well - before I get to call you my girlfriend, I want to spend more time with you. You know, like go on a date or something." she smiled. 

"That sounds perfect, May." Elizabeth grinned.

Growl. 

Maeve blushed bright red at the sound her stomach had made. "Sorry." she cringed. "I skipped breakfast."

Elizabeth laughed standing up. "Because you were avoiding me, right? Well, let's grab a bite for lunch, shall we?" she offered Maeve a hand.

"Okay." Maeve took it and propped herself up. 

"And maybe," Elizabeth teased, squeezing her hand, "this can be our first date. Right in the Great Hall with slimy mashed potatoes."

Maeve laughed. "Still sounds better than the one I had with Goyle." 

_____

"Looks like you and Liz are getting pretty close, huh?" Cedric smirked, helping Maeve put her bag under her seat. 

"Kind of." the brunette blushed. "She's done a great job helping me study for the mid-terms. I almost think I might get an A in arithmancy." 

"Julia's going to be happy to hear that." Cedric chuckled, fixing his own bag under their compartment seat. "There you are. What took you so long?"

"Don't ask." Elizabeth rolled her eyes. "Henry refused to leave until he'd bagged at least five sandwiches for the journey."

"They're for everybody!" the boy in question protested, entering behind her. 

"You do know you can just buy whatever you want from the trolley, right?" Zach entered the compartment with Megan in tow. Cho and a few of her friends entered as well - which wasn't such a surprise because she and Cedric had officially started dating. 

"But Hogwarts sandwiches are the best." Henry pouted. "Those elves really know what they're doing."

"Of course, Henry." Maeve laughed as the train started moving away from the station. "I'm going to get some snacks from the trolley. Anyone want anything?" she asked, turning around to look. 

"I'd like a few chocolate frogs, and -" Henry was silenced with a smack on the head.

"I thought Hogwarts sandwiches were supreme, eh? Nothing for him. But could you get a pumpkin pasty for me?" Elizabeth asked, slipping some money into Maeve's hand. 

"Sure." Maeve grinned, leaving the compartment and putting the money into her pocket before finding a note amongst the coins. 

She opened it curiously and smiled as she read the words. 'Meet me by the last compartment - Liz'.

"What're you smiling at?" an arrogant voice asked and Maeve's head snapped up. 

"Draco." she acknowledged, her lips forming a straight line. "What do you want?"

The blonde shrugged. "I saw you two, you know."

"Excuse me?" Maeve narrowed her eyes; confused. 

"By the lake. You and that sixth year prefect." he smirked. "I didn't know you were gay."

Maeve gulped silently. "Really? I thought your gaydar would've been on point given how much you obsess over Harry." she shot back. 

The blonde strode at her, no doubt with intentions of hexing her when-

"Draco, scram." an irritated voice said from behind Maeve. 

She knew almost immediately who it was. Daphne.

"Of course." the grey-eyed boy scoffed. "Your little Slytherin friends coming to your rescue I see." he took a few steps away from her. "Cross me again and I'll make sure your secret's out to the entire school." he threatened before turning on his heel. 

Maeve breathed a sigh of relief, feeling stupid for leaving her wand back in her compartment.

"You okay?" Theodore asked from behind her, glaring at Draco's retreating figure. 

And that's when it hit her. Him and Daphne had heard every word Draco had said. They knew.

"I um-" she froze before turning around, coming almost nose to nose with Pansy. She noticed Blaise was standing behind them as well. Maeve hurriedly took a few steps back. "I'm fine, thanks." 

"Malfoy's an idiot. Forget about him." Blaise said seriously and Maeve blinked. She had come to terms with the fact that the boy was a person of few words. Him speaking up so suddenly was certainly a surprise. 

"We were on our way to the trolley when we saw you leave your compartment." Daphne explained.

"And since you've been ignoring for all of last week, we thought it'd be a good idea to ask you what's going on." Theodore frowned worriedly. 

"What? I haven't been ignoring you." Maeve's eyes widened, knowing it was a complete lie.

"No it's fine. At least we know you've been with your girlfriend all this time." Daphne grinned. "We thought you landed with smallpox or something."

Maeve blushed, looking down. "Lizzie isn't my girlfriend." She gulped and snuck a peek at Pansy, who had been silent the entire time. And then Maeve saw what she had been preoccupied with. Pansy was busy reading a small piece of paper before her eyes dropped and she gave the paper back to the Hufflepuff. 

"You dropped this." 

Maeve took it, saying nothing as she tried not to think about the last time she had encountered Pansy. In the last week, throughout the mid-terms, she had taken extra care to not cross paths with Pansy. It was a relief that choir practice was cancelled because of the exams. Regardless, avoiding her feelings for Pansy without seeing her was one thing, because just those three words coming out of the Slytherin's mouth were enough to make Maeve want to clutch her heart and break down. 

"You can sit with us if you want." Theodore said softly, catching Maeve's expression. 

"Yeah, we can talk about everything. You know, catch up with everything that's happened in the last week?" Daphne gave her a smile and Blaise nodded in agreement.

Maeve contemplated. She could sit with them amongst Pansy's presence, their encounter in the halls playing through her head on loop, wishing that Pansy would just like her back. Or she could get her snacks and go to the last train compartment with Elizabeth, where she wouldn't experience a memory that had shattered her heart to pieces over and over. 

"That sounds wonderful." Maeve grinned. "But I have somewhere to be. I promise once winter break is over, we'll all have a nice evening at Hogsmeade." and hopefully, by then, she would have gotten over her feelings for a particularly quiet Slytherin girl.

Then, with a small wave, Maeve turned around and headed for the end of the train.

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