A/N: I'm back! School's started, so that's stressful... I might not update as quickly, with schoolwork and everything. But anyways, GMW's always here to take my mind off of things, and for that I'm always grateful ;). Ok, I'll stop yapping now. Reviews are always appreciated, and, like I've said before, if you guys have any suggestions on who to pair Riley with, please post below!

The train ride to Hogwarts started out to be the most fun Maya had ever had in her entire life, (even with the surprise inclusion of Farkle Minkus, boy genius and diehard ladies man). Farkle, being the growing (and filthy rich) boy that he is, had purchased nearly half of the sweets on the trolley cart, and offered a generous portion to Maya and Riley. Now, full on Chocolate Frogs and Pumpkin Pasties and Berty Bot's Every Flavor Beans (Maya didn't like those very much, after three vomit flavored ones in a row), Maya had never been so content in her entire life.

Both of her new friends (yes, Farkle Minkus was now a 'friend') treated her better than all of the people in New York combined, and she was left feeling as if an empty space in her soul was suddenly being filled.

Hope?

No. That was impossible. She'd never needed it before, and she didn't need it now. But...maybe Riley Matthews and even Farkle Minkus would stick around. Maybe they wanted to be a part of Maya's lonely world, and make it better. Maybe they wanted to explore her Dungeon of Sadness and show her how not everything needed to be scary and how not all good things needed to be treated like they would disappear. Maybe...

Maybe even Maya Hart, abandoned by a father and left to scrape the streets of New York with half a mother, could be capable of trust.

Riley, Farkle, and her mother. Maya would stop her list there. No need to test her luck and see how many other people she could let in before one of them broke her heart for the umpteenth time.

"Hey, Maya," Maya turned at the sound of her name. They were two hours into the train ride, and she had thought she was the only one in their car awake. Apparently not. Riley was lying sprawled out with her back against the window, smiling sleepily at her through lidded eyes.

"What is it, Riles?" Maya replied. Farkle (who Maya hadn't noticed had also woken up) stopped unwrapping yet another Chocolate Frog and was now watching them, a hint of interest in his eyes.

Riley sat up straight and opened her eyes all the way, leaning forward slightly towards Maya. "Can you teach me how to flirt?"

Maya blinked. As flattering (and surprising) as it was that her friend trusted her enough to make this request, she was shocked. Innocent little Riley, tackling the very dangerous world of boys? It had to be a joke...

"Riley, are you serious?" The incredibility in her own voice almost made Maya flinch. That was not supposed to come out like that... Perhaps this 'friendship' thing took more work than Maya realized. Riley frowned.

"Maya, I have never been more serious about anything ever! My parents have been sheltering me from the outside world for ALL ELEVEN YEARS of my life." Riley's eyes shone as she continued. "Flirting would be first step towards becoming an independent woman, just like you!"

Uh oh. This train ride had just taken a turn for the worse. If an "independent woman" was Riley's image of Maya, then flirting might be only the first ridiculous request of many for the brunette girl to make to the blonde...

"Riles, boys are a very, ah, volatile subject to cover at our age," Maya began slowly, trying to shut down her friend as lightly as possible, "and learning how to flirt now isn't really a smart idea..." Not to mention I actually don't have any first hand experience in dealing with boys...

Beside Riley, Farkle was looking at her with a glint in his eye, Chocolate Frog now forgotten. Maya stiffened. His boyish face was curved into a dangerous smirk, and he folded his arms across his chest (was that supposed to look intimidating?). "Yeah Maya, you should totally give Riley flirting lessons. In fact, I might pick up some skills from your exemplary ability to attract the opposite sex too. Why don't you show us how it's done?"

Maya narrowed her eyes. Was he setting her up? Perhaps she had been wrong to consider him a friend so hastily... The nerd boy had to be aware that Maya didn't really know how to flirt, but her pride kept her silent. Besides, the chances of actually going through with Farkle's plan were almost nonexistent anyways.

"Oh my gosh, that's a brilliant idea, Farkle!" Maya inwardly cursed. "Maya, you absolutely HAVE to show me how to flirt now. We can go to one of the other compartments and find a cute guy, and you can flirt with him for me to watch! Pleeeaaasseee?" Riley turned her puppy dog eyes on Maya. The blonde could feel her boat rapidly sinking.

"Um, still, Riley, don't we have more important things to worry about, like, I don't know..." Maya looked around quickly, and spotted Princess Dancing Sunshine trying to climb out the window, "uh, your cat climbing out the window?"

"Oh no! Princess, get back here!" Riley's attention immediately switched to her kitten, who was now dangling off of the glass window pane. But Farkle grabbed the animal before it could fly out, tugged it down onto his lap, and then turned back to Maya. "You were saying?"

She silently cursed the boy. If it had just been Riley, Maya was positive that she would have bought the distraction. However, Farkle-who-did-not-have-the-attention-span-of-a-two-year-old just had to be there. Humiliation of a lifetime, here I come.

"Farkle, if you want me to teach Riley so bad, why don't you do it yourself?" Maya knew it was a last ditch attempt, but she desperately hoped it would pay off. She really didn't want to start her first year at Hogwarts by mortally embarrassing herself in front of some random dude. C'mon Farkle, where's your manly ego? But Farkle just kept smiling.

"No Maya, I think you would be a much better teacher." Maya gave him a death glare.

You really want to do this? She silently egged him.

He shrugged and over dramatically mouthed 'I'm bored'. Then he turned to Riley.

"Riley, let's go find a cute boy for Maya to flirt with!" The brunette, oblivious as always to the showdown that had just occurred, skipped happily out of the compartment. With sunken heart, Maya followed.

They had only passed a couple doors when Riley stopped short, a furious blush covering her pretty face. One look inside the window she was peering through and Maya didn't know whether to die on the spot or start laughing. Even Farkle gave an impressed nod when he saw what, or more specifically who, they were looking at.

Inside of The Compartment Two Doors Down and To the Left was the most classically handsome boy Maya had ever seen. Blonde, muscular, and with a chiseled face any male specimen twice his age would be jealous of, he was the prime example of "a cute guy." He was sitting alone, with a black suitcase and owl cage beside him, and was staring out the window at the blurred scenery. From her angle, Maya couldn't see his eyes, but she was sure they were every bit as dreamy as the rest of him. She sighed. Riley needed to learn the rules of the game before she started playing for real, and Rule Number One was to know your limits. This guy was so out of both her and Riley's league that Maya didn't even look twice before opening her mouth to tell Riley to move on.

"Riles, he-"

"Maya, it has to be him!" The brunette's squeal bounced off of the train corridor's walls, and Maya quickly slapped a hand over the girl's face. Thankfully, Mr. Gorgeous inside the compartment hadn't heard a thing. Maya turned to Riley, hand still over mouth, and pursed her lips. "Riley, this guy is NOT the kind of person to give flirting lessons on. Let's go find someone slightly more...conspicuous." She turned to go, but Riley latched tight onto her arm.

"Please Maya. I just get the feeling that this guy is The One for me. It's love at first sight! PLLLEEEEAAAASSSEEEE?!" Maya blinked at her. Love at first sight? Was she for real? Everyone knew those kinds of things only happened in Disney movies and trashy romance novels. Not real life. And definitely not to an eleven year old witches in train corridors with absolutely no idea what they were doing.

"Sweetheart, I know we only met today, but I think I understand you well enough to make a decent judgement on what kinds of boys are right for you." At Riley's encouraging nod, Maya continued. "And he is definitely not one of them." Riley's optimistic smile fell back into a frown. "Those kinds of boys? They'll break your heart in ten seconds flat and sneer while you pick up the pieces. Now let's move on."

But Riley seemed to be set in her stance, and was firmly shaking her head. "Maya, he looks so nice! I'm sure he'd never do that. Plus, no offense, but I think you judge people a little too quickly." Maya flinched, but she knew Riley was right. "We haven't even had one conversation with him yet. I think he's perfect for me. Now go in and flirt with him!" This time it was Maya who frowned. She turned to Farkle, who had been watching the entire exchange with his stupid "Farkle-Grin" plastered onto his face, and waited for his opinion. Sadly, he was staring intently at the boy inside the compartment, and Maya had to swipe her hand in front of him several times before he responded.

"Maya, based on my calculations, this member of the male species falls within the ninety ninth top percentile of human evolution based on looks alone." Farkle stood ramrod straight and had fallen into what seemed like a robot mode. "And even though I am aware that I myself only fall within the ninety eighth, I am perfectly confident that his brain capacity must be at least fifty percent worse than my own." He raised one finger, as if lecturing a class. "Therefore, I am still the obviously superior choice on all levels for either one of you two lovely ladies-"

"Farkle," Riley cut him off before he could continue. He stopped abruptly, and gave her an irritated look.

"What?!"

Riley's face was molded into a determined expression, and she looked like she had just made the most important decision of her entire life. A tingle of worry shot down Maya's spine. "I have decided that I am no longer going to be dependent on the opinions of my peers to influence who I am as an independent woman! Therefore, I apologize if my next actions upset either of you!"

Then, to Maya's horror, Riley pushed open the doors to The Compartment Two Doors Down and To The Left holding the Drop-Dead-Gorgeous-Boy-Maya-Wanted-Nothing-To-Do-With and pulled her inside.