A/N: I do not own Harry Potter.

Chapter 1:

September, 1977

"Maggie I'm sorry to have to end things this way." said Thomas McLaggen.

Instead of meeting his gaze, Maggie kept her eyes on his tie, which was made up of gold and scarlet colors.

"Why even bother being with me when all you ever wanted was to be with her." said Maggie, as she met met Thomas's blue eyes.

Hours later, while she worked on her homework in the Ravenclaw common rooms, Maggie reflected on her relationship with Thomas. They started dating early sixth year. They met in September at a Slugclub meeting. It made sense that the two students had not met before due too their different house statuses. Thomas seemed to be enchanted by Maggie, a muggleborn Ravenclaw who wasn't too outspoken.

"Well, it's not like the relationship was going anywhere anyways."said Lena Parkers, from her place on a blue chair.

"Thanks Lena, couldn't you have let me in on that fact." said Maggie, her face tinged red. It was apparent to everyone but her that her relationship had no chance.

"Let's look at the facts. Thomas McLaggen was your first boyfriend. He was absolutely smitten with you, and he was relentless in his efforts about letting you know exactly how much he fancied you. No guy had paid that much attention before,not that mention that he is rather nice to look at, you really didn't have a chance. It's not like he's a big loss. Thomas McLaggen is an arrogant snot." When she finished her analysis of the situation, Lena yawned continued reading her Witchy Women magazine.

Knowing she was seconds away from snapping at Lena, Maggie walked across the room and laid down on a couch. Her and Lena attended Hogwarts, a school for wizards and witches alike. When she was eleven a brown spotted owl delivered a letter that changed the course her life might have taken.

As she laid there, studying the star embedded ceiling, she contemplated her friendship with Lena. They met after they were both sorted into Ravenclaw. Maggie was muggleborn and had plenty of questions, which Lena was qualified to answer given her half- blood genetic makeup. They bonded over their lack of father figures and a fascination with the Ruby Bloom book series.

Time went by and third year came along. Lena was always pretty, but during third year she suddenly become absolutely lovely. Adam Smith, a forth year Gryffindor asked Lena to Hogmeads. Lena had her first kiss under a tree nearby the shrieking shack. Lena cried on Maggie when Adam broke up with her to date Mary MacDonald. Since then guys had come and gone in Lena's life. With her strawberry blond hair and hazel eyes, there wasn't exactly a mystery why. Despite the rumors that Lena was a tart, Maggie knew that Lena simply had a penchant for falling in love easily, and rarely ever with a guy with honorable intentions. Up until she was sixteen, Maggie lived vicariously through Lena.

Just as Maggie began to drift off, she was suddenly shaken harshly awake be Lena.

"Let's go." Was all she said before exiting the common room. Maggie followed Lena through the spiraling staircase, very confused and sleepy. They made their way through the halls and to the kitchens.

"Did you and Riley Andrews break up too?" asked Maggie, wondering how Lena accomplished to bite her tongue while she ranted on about Thomas. Lena and Maggie's kitchen routine was usually reserved for Lena's breakups.

"No, but you've had a breakup and your sad, and I have firewhiskey and chocolate stored here for such horrid occasions." said Lena as she grabbed a paper bag form a nearby shelf.

Instead of making their way to a table, Lena and Maggie sat against a wall as they exchanged woes. They drank their firewhiskey straight from the bottle and it wasn't too long before they started slurring their words.

"Why aren't you with Riley tonight?" said Maggie. It was Friday night after all..

"Ehh- he's no fun tonight. Gryffindor slaughtered Hufflepuff during quidditch today."

"There was a quidditch game today?" questioned Maggie out loud, genuinely baffled by that information.

Lena let out a laugh. "Yeah. I'm sorry if I sounded too cavalier about your breakup earlier. I've been through so many, I forget this is a first for you. I know it stings like a bitch right now, but that will dull eventually." Lena took a swig from the firewhiskey bottle.

"It's okay. You're right though. Thomas wasn't a huge loss. I had less of an infatuation with him, of more one with the thought of having a boyfriend." Maggie loathed admitting the thought out loud. Her and Thomas were together for almost a year. 'What a waste of time.'thought Maggie.

"Why didn't you tell me what you thought of him sooner?" asked Maggie.

"You've been there for me during the aftermath of all my breakups-"

"Lets see, there was: Leo Connors, James Potter, Tony Wilkes.."

"Alright, alright enough. I get it, I'm a slag." Giggled Lena, her face glowing with a pretty flush that was only ever brought along by alcohol. "My point is, it was about time you had a crappy boyfriend yourself, and I was going to see you through your first relationship. In the very beginning you guys did seem genuinely smitten with each other. You know me, I don't pick up if the guy is rat until the very end, when it's too late."

"You think our father's abandoning us left us with more daddy issues than I originally thought?" questioned Maggie.

"I know it. My mother is as caring mermaid,those fickle bitch fishes, it's no wonder I'm in love with every other guy. Your mom has a new guy every other year since your dad left, the reason you've held out going after guy makes sense to me. And dating Thomas McLaggen to top things off, he's as exciting as a slug."

"Thank you ma'am for your educated insight." responded Maggie dryly.

Lena glanced at a clock on the kitchen wall.

"It's nearly two in the morning, our room mates should start tripping their way to the common room any minute now." Both room mates had left hours earlier to attend an Gryffindor after quidditch party.

Arms linked, Lena and Maggie made their way slowly but surely back to their common room.

Once they were safely in their room they collapsed onto their respective beds.

After spending Sunday moping about and nursing hangovers, Monday came around. At half past six in the morning, Maggie was braiding her hair while Lena took extra care to put on her makeup. Maggie was forever envious of Lena's cat shaped hazel eyes. Her own eyes were big and a brown so dark they blended with the iris. Her light brown hair was pin straight and in a simple braid that fell just below her breast. Maggie thought that she was fairly attractive, some might even say pretty. Still, she couldn't help but feel washed out compared to the ever vivacious Lena.

"Hey I'm go catch up with Andrew." said Lena, grabbing her school bag on her way out the door.

"I thought she was with Clemons." asked Rose, a fellow seventh year Ravenclaw.

"Nah, Andrews is her boy toy of the week." clarified Natalie.

For the most part Maggie's roommates were nice enough,and while they were on amicable terms with Maggie and Lena, they apparently could not help but gossip about Lena's affairs. Not in the mood to hear their speculations, Maggie quickly turned the topic.

"So lady's, what can tell me about Mary Simmons?"

Maggie sat with Rose and Natalie at breakfast, content to to listen to them talk while she occasionally chimed in. However, she spent the better part of the morning turning over the information she had been given in her head. Mary Simmons was a pureblood, in Gryffindor, and very well connected. From her spot at the Ravenclaw table, Maggie saw first hand that Mary was very classically beautiful. While that probably helped Thomas McLaggen profess his love for Mary, she had inkling that her well known novelists parents really sweetened the deal. If the McLaggen family was anything, they were well connected.

Maggie's advanced potions class contained people from all houses. Slughorn paired Maggie with Lily Evans, a well known Gryffindor and this years head girl.

" Miss Evans and Miss Owens, I expect that you will attend this weekends club meeting. Miss Owens, a representative from the Department of Mysteries will be there." Slughorn left their station with a smile on his face.

Maggie chewed her lip as she contemplated whether it would be a smart choice or not to skip the club meeting. Since she was a muggleborn, she had work harder to distinguish herself from her more known classmates. Skipping this weeks Slughorn meeting would accomplish more harm than good given how elusive the job at the Department of mysteries was.

"So, you're thinking of working for the Dept. of Mysteries? And thanks for taking care of the roaches." questioned Lily.

Maggie cleared her throat as she finished chopping the dead fire roaches.

"No, problem. Thanks for taking care of.. everything else." said Maggie, raising an eyebrow at Lily's corner of the worktable. The potion was nearly done.

"Sorry, I must have made this potion a dozen times and was working on autopilot. And you seem to be distracted yourself." said Lily as Maggie stirred the roach bits into the potion.

"Well, to answer you earlier question, yes I am trying to get a job at the Department of Mysteries. I just don't know if they'll even find me qualified to file their papers."said Maggie.

"Well, if I recall correctly you're the top of most classes and a shoe in. Plus dating McLaggen should help some." said Lily smiling.

"Actually, me and Thomas broke up, on Saturday. To be with Mary Simmons." Maggie smiled while she spoke, but her eyes betrayed her.

Lily's green eyes widened in shock."Wow. Wait, not wow. That's not what I meant. I mean I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"It's okay. I'm sorry for over sharing. But hey, at least now I know where his priorities lie."

As class came to an end Lily exited with Maggie.

"Hey Evans, mind if I walk you to charms. We still need to discuss the patrol schedule." said a tall lanky seventh year Gryffindor leaning against a nearby wall, a headboy badge gleaming on his chest.

"Sure Potter, bye Maggie." said Lily. Maggie smiled and waved bye.

"Later Margaret." said the shaggy haired teenager waggling his eyebrows.

Maggie flashed him a dimpled smiled and flipped James Potter the bird.

Maggie had been going through her day in daze, and it was the way James and Lily actually speaking in pleasant terms to each that broke her out of it.

James became aware that Maggie loathed her actual name during forth year, during his brief relationship with Lena. If a courtship that consisted primarily of snogging and lasted less than two weeks could be considered a relationship. James noticed that Maggie wrinkled her nose during the very few number of times people called her Margaret. Now he never called her by any other name. While Maggie and James were on a first name basis, it didn't extend much beyond that. Like the rest of the student's in their year, Maggie was always hearing about Lily and James infamous confrontations. One of them was the reason Lena and James didn't make it.

Maggie went through the motions for the rest of the day, which included spending a little over two hours in the library studying for Ancient Runes. Despite her confessions, Maggie was surprised to find that she wasn't as upset as she thought over the breakup. Her pride, however, had taken a bit of a hit.