n i n e t e e n

As she wandered through the castle, Maeve found herself ending up at the place she always did - the Black Lake. For reasons unknown - no matter the time of day, it always succeeded in calming her down. 

As upset as Pansy was, she was thankful the blonde git hadn't outed Elizabeth as well. Or maybe that was just because he'd blacked out before he could. Either way, she wouldn't have wanted anyone else to be in her place - not even Draco himself. 

She sighed, lying down on the grass. The fall had made it slightly sharp and tickly to sit on. Her eyes widened as she looked over at a figure looming above her. 

She up straight at once. 

"Pansy?" 

"Hi." the Slytherin offered a small smile, "Mind if I join you?"

Maeve turned back to the lake with a shrug. 

"I'll take that as a yes." Pansy mumbled and Maeve felt the grass next to her shift.

"That was a complete dick move by the way - what Draco did." Pansy sighed after they spent about five minutes in silence.

"I should've seen it coming." was all Maeve responded with before she took a deep breath and turned to face the short-haired girl. "Why are you here, Pansy?" 

The girl bit her lip, before looking down. "I tried to find you after you left and Theo told me you'd left him. I figured this is where you might be."

"That doesn't answer my question." Maeve replied monotonously. 

"I... I wanted to say sorry." Pansy answered confidently, looking into her eyes. "I didn't know what I was feeling. I still don't know what I was feeling. What I do know though, is that I handled it in pretty much the worst way possible."

"Yeah, you did." 

Pansy nodded, expecting the Hufflepuff to ease the situation. "Anyway, I realized that I pushed away one of the closest friends I've ever had. And I miss you, Prissy. I know I said it already, but I really am, sorry. You have no idea how much." 

Maeve looked at her and quirked a brow. "This isn't out of pity after what happened tonight, is it? Or do you mean it?" 

"I mean it. I really do." Pansy protested. "And I don't know if you're comfortable with it, but Daph, Blaise and Theo managed to catch on that we weren't hanging out as often before the summer and I ended up telling them what happened after the Yule Ball. We all decided I should apologize." 

Maeve blinked, a faint smile making it's way onto her lips. "I told Theodore tonight too. And I was going to tell Blaise and Daph tomorrow but looks like I don't need to. So I guess, thanks... in a way." 

Pansy laughed. "I'm here trying to apologize for a major fuck up and you're thanking me. Of course." she giggled, digging her face into her knees as her shoulders shook with laughter. 

Maeve looked at her, appalled, before she gave in and joined the fit. 

"Well at least I have one less thing to worry about." Maeve grinned once the laughing had subsided. 

"My pleasure, Prissy." Pansy smiled, and Maeve noticed the familiar gleam show up in the girl's eyes once more. "Also... Theodore said something about Ilvermorny just now..."

"Right. That." Maeve nodded, looking ahead. "Headmaster Dumbledore offered to send me to Ilvermorny for a year... just to get some time away from Cedric and Hogwarts." she sucked in a deep breath. "He said that if I liked the place, I could finish my education in America." 

"But you said no?" Pansy asked; her face expressionless.

"Yeah." Maeve nodded. 

"Why?" 

"That's a story for another time." Maeve said nervously.

Pansy nodded in understanding. "Well, whatever the reason was, I'm glad you decided to stay, Prissy." 

Maeve cracked a smile. 

"Friends?" the Slytherin asked, holding out her pinky.

"Friends." Maeve chuckled, interlocking their pinkies. 

_____

Maeve's day had not been the best.  First off, when she'd woken up, the dorm was empty. She didn't see anyone she knew on her way to breakfast but they whispering still followed. The second she entered the Great Hall, most of the chatter stopped and Maeve turned back, completely not ready to face the school. Arithmancy itself was a boring subject, but mixed with curious glances her way and tons of snickering and snide comments, Maeve actually tried to pay attention in class. The Herbology lecture was relatively fine. Professor Sprout had announced anyone caught talking would have five marks cut and no one wanted to test to see if she was speaking the truth. 

The rest of the classes passed in the same way Arithmancy had and Maeve had concluded that every Hufflepuff she knew had been avoiding her. Susan, Megan, Hannah and Zach always seemed to arrive just before class started and were the first to leave once it ended. People even seemed to walk out of her way in the hallways. Granted that Maeve wasn't the most popular student ever, but she had never experienced being treated as a social pariah before. 

The last class of the day, however, seemed to cheer Meave up because she saw Pansy already sitting in front of their cauldron, grinning at her and not giving two shits about all the people staring at the Pansy Parkinson actually smiling. 

"Looks like you're in a good mood today." Maeve acknowledged, slipping in next to her. 

"Well why wouldn't I be? I just got my best friend back." Pansy nudged her and Maeve laughed quietly. 

"Thanks, Pansy." she smiled, feeling her spirits rise for the first time that day. 

Snape then walked in, instructing them to start practicing their Invigoration Draught to perfection. 

Maeve was happy as class came to an end. No potions had blown up in her face. And every time someone whispered something while looking at Maeve, Pansy would shut them up with a glare. Those two hours passed almost like any normal class would. 

The Hufflepuff was packing her bag when a loud squelching noise erupted from within her stomach. She glanced around, thankful that almost everyone had already left. 

"Someone's hungry for lunch." Pansy mused. "Didn't you have breakfast?"

"Uh... no. I'm still kind of the outcast, here." Maeve mumbled, her cheeks running red. 

Pansy said nothing as she spaced out. And then she snapped her fingers. "Wait right here. I'll be back, okay? Don't move!" she said hurriedly dropping her satchel to the floor and sprinting out of the room. 

Maeve looked around the empty classroom. Not even Snape had bothered to stay back and make sure everyone left the classroom.

It seemed like an eternity before Pansy came back, with, Theodore, Daphne and Blaise.

"I thought you ditched me." Maeve laughed. "Why is everyone here." 

"We are your lunch escort squad. It was an impromptu decision." Theodore stated proudly, puffing his chest out. 

Maeve blinked. "Come again?" 

"I know, we're really cool." Daphne flipped her hair back haughtily, "Come on, we already spent about ten minutes of our lunch on this and we're starving." she pulled the girl along. 

"Is this really necessary?" Maeve asked in a tiny voice once the stares grew even more  as she sat down in the Great Hall being surrounded by her Slytherin friends.

"I told them you'd think it was awkward." Blaise shrugged from beside her. "But do they ever listen to my rational advice? Of course not." he huffed and Maeve laughed. 

"Hey, shut up. You're doing this, aren't you?" Theodore frowned at Blaise. 

"Because you practically made me." the dark-skinned boy replied with a look. 

"Where's Pansy?" Daphne asked. 

"I don't know. She said she had something to take care of." Theodore answered just as Pansy sat down. 

"Woah, what happened to your hand?" Maeve's eyed widened, seeing the small purple bruise that had began to form on the girl's right hand. 

"Nothing." the Slytherin shrugged. "Someone had to be taught a lesson." she nudged her head in the direction of the entrance, where Draco came in, rubbing his jaw that had a similar bruise forming on it. 

"No way. You punched him?" Daphne laughed in disbelief.

"Someone had to." Pansy responded, filling her plate with food. 

"You could've hexed him. That way you wouldn't have that nasty bruise on your hand." Blaise said wisely.

"Yeah, but that wouldn't exactly give me the satisfaction I need." Pansy said gruffly.

"Hey, Maeve." a voice behind the Hufflepuff called and she turned. 

"Ced." her eyes widened slightly. She'd completely forgotten about him. "Hi." 

"Can we talk?" he asked hesitantly and Maeve sighed silently before nodding and getting up. 

"So I'm guessing this is about the rumour spreading around, right?" she asked as they walked to a corner of the Great Hall. 

"You guessed wrong. I don't care about your sexuality, May. Although I am worried about how you're doing. The way every one got to know must have been horrible." he frowned. 

"Well, it's not as if I can obliviate every single person in this room." the brunette shrugged. "And don't worry about me. I'm fine." she smiled, glancing behind his shoulder as she watched Pansy fool around with Theodore on the Slytherin table. 

"If you say so. But, that's not why I wanted to talk to you..." he sighed. "You see, Ravenclaw needs a new Beater and I don't know the first thing about Quidditch, but I really want to be on the team. So could you... train me?" 

Maeve burst out laughing. "Train? You? Me? Please, Cedell, I'm as clueless as you when it comes to Quidditch. Although..." she trailed off, glancing as someone waved at her. "I think I know someone who can help you." she grabbed Cedell's hand and led him to the Hufflepuff table. 

"Hi, Lizzie." she grinned, waving back at the girl. 

"Hey, May. Who's this?" Elizabeth asked pleasantly as she looked at Cedell. 

"Lizzie, this is Cedell, my half-brother from America. Ced, this is Elizabeth." Maeve introduced. 

"Oh, hi!" Elizabeth grinned, standing up as she caught the boy in an unexpected hug. "It's so good to meet you, Cedell." 

"Uh... likewise." the boy answered, blushing furiously as he wondered just how extroverted Hufflepuffs were. 

"Ced here wants to try out for Ravenclaw's beater position. And since I couldn't be worse at flying... I was wondering if you could help him?" Maeve asked nervously. 

"Beater, huh?" Elizabeth put her hands on her waist as she assessed the boy. "Well you've certainly got the build of one. You'd make a fine Beater, yes." she muttered to herself. "As Captain of the Hufflepuff Quidditch team, I approve." she nodded firmly. "I'll meet you by the Black Lake tomorrow at six in the morning. Don't be late." 

"Woah - wait. Really?" Cedell asked. 

"Thanks, Lizzie." Maeve smiled, "This means a lot." 

"Anything for my favourite junior." the girl winked and Maeve blushed slightly. 

"Right uh... you'll see me around... um, I mean I'll see you around. Or is it the other way?" Maeve stuttered incoherently, "Anyway, bye!" 

"So are you a thing?" Cedell asked jokingly and Maeve's ears ran red. "Holy shit, you are, aren't you?" he laughed. "Merlin, Maeve. It couldn't be more obvious."

"No." Maeve responded curtly. "We were a thing. Past tense. Now shut up." she said, clearly flustered and embarrassed as she walked back to the Slytherin table, hearing Cedell laugh in the distance. 

_____

With a better mood than that morning, Maeve walked into her dorm. But the second she did, she came to regret the decision. 

Megan, Susan, Zach and Hannah were standing there, waiting for her. 

"Hi." Hannah smiled weakly. 

"Hello." Maeve trailed off, removing her satchel and placing it on her bed. "What's going on here?" 

"I'm pretty sure you know, what's going on here, May." Megan frowned. "Why didn't you tell us? You know what, we're not even upset that you didn't tell us we're upset that you told Malfoy before you told us. I thought you hated him." 

"I do." Maeve protested. "And it's not as if I told Malfoy either. He just saw me... kissing someone." she pouted. 

"Did you tell your Slytherin friends before us then? Because I didn't see any of them react in a peculiar way last night." Zach said softly. 

"I did." Maeve confessed. "And I wanted to tell you guys, really! I just... I didn't know how you guys would react."

"How long have we been friends, May?" Susan asked. "I'll tell you. We've been friends for the last five years. You met your new friends a year ago. You ignored us to hang out with them, they were always your go-to squad when something happened and I'm sorry, but I can't take it anymore. If you don't want to  be our friend, just spit it out." 

"That's not what I want at all." Maeve gasped. "I know we haven't hung out in a while, but that doesn't mean I don't love you guys. And now that I think about it, I have been a rotten friend in this last year. And I'm sorry. If anything, I'm scared you don't want to be my friend." 

"Oh, Maeve." Megan sighed tiredly, walking up to her and squeezing the brunette. "You're stupid for thinking that. Very very very stupid." 

Maeve let out a watery chuckle as she hugged back. "I've missed you guys." 

Word Count: 2136