Author's Note: I'm starting a new job soon! I have a week off, though, so … yeah, expect lots of chapters. Also, I know this story doesn't seem as "light" as I promised, but it will get there soon enough. Just some angst I need to get out of the way first.

Over the next few days, Maggie did her best to avoid Edwin. She was terrified he would tell her secret to the other Hogwarts students, but that fear quickly subsided. Edwin wasn't exactly a "gossip."

Maggie had never told anyone at Hogwarts about her Legilimency. The only friend she had who knew was Mayra, and she attended Ilvermorny. Maggie had decided years ago – along with her parents – that the fewer people who knew about her ability, the better. She did not want anyone scared of her reading their thoughts, and she damn sure didn't want the pressure that might come from friends who wanted her to cheat or steal. It would be alarmingly easy for Maggie to take advantage of her Legilimency, but she was determined that wouldn't happen.

So, she had kept it all to herself, including the daily struggles she had; each time she sat down to take a test, or think on a problem in class, she had to constantly repel the intrusive thoughts of others as they concentrated around her. When she'd been younger, it had sometimes been such a strain that she had dissolved into tears. It was one of her most closely-guarded secrets, and she was adamant that no one at school would ever know.

Well, that was out of the window now. Edwin had figured it out in a matter of six weeks. Then again, he was abnormally perceptive, and Maggie had broken her own rule by trying to figure out what was going on with him.

She'd only been doing it to help him, she reasoned. Surely that wasn't bad? Wasn't helping someone the right thing to do? Maggie sighed heavily, arms full of books as she walked between her classes. She wasn't sure of anything anymore.

And this school year was definitely NOT turning out like she'd expected.

That night, Maggie was again plagued with the shadow nightmare. This time, it felt like the shadow was made entirely of anxiety. It weighted her whole body down, and all she could remember when she awoke, sweating, was the tremendous pressure she'd felt.

Maggie did her best to fall asleep again, only managing it about a half hour before dawn. The next day, she went about her business while still half-asleep. After lunch, she went to her room to spend her free half-hour taking a nap.

Unfortunately, her tired mind forgot to set an alarm, and Maggie slept for three hours.

She awoke with a start, her body suddenly realizing it had enjoyed too much rest. Blinking blearily at her clock, Maggie's eyes widened. Flying out of her bed, she ran into the Common Room just as Edwin entered.

"Maggie," he said sharply. "Where were you?"

"I was – " she shoved her messy curls out of her face, "I – I fell asleep – "

"You missed the Flying Lesson with the first years!" Edwin told her, looking absolutely furious. "You left thirty-six eleven-year-olds unsupervised with a bunch of brooms!"

Maggie's heart stopped. Of all the things for her to sleep through, that had to be the worst.

"What?" she gasped, hurrying up to Edwin. "What happened? Did anyone get hurt?"

Edwin scowled. "Two of them got on theirs, but Longbottom spotted them from his office window and came out to get them. No one was harmed."

Maggie exhaled, shoving her hands over her face. "Edwin, I am so sorry – "

"What is wrong with you?" asked Edwin, looking disgusted. "Do you not care about being Head Girl at all?"

"I'm exhausted!" argued Maggie defensively.

Edwin narrowed his eyes. "Oh, I am sure your life is so very hard, Maggie," he said sardonically. "You only have perfect health and every material resource in the world available to you. Merlin, how do you manage?"

Maggie's hands balled into fists. "Are you suggesting you have it harder than me?" she asked incredulously. "All you do is hiss at people and hide in your bloody room! How terrible that must be for you!" And because she was embarrassed and flustered, she added, "You're pathetic!"

She had never seen Edwin so livid, but even as Maggie paced the room with angry steps, he kept perfectly still. He shook his head at her with a scowl. "You are the most ignorant, selfish person I have ever met," he told her.

Maggie stopped pacing, her eyes wide. "I am not!" she exclaimed. "Look, I have a lot going on, alright? I'm sorry that I can't devote every single second of my life to being Head Girl! I'm sorry that unlike you, I have other interests – and friends!"

"I bet you never miss a Quidditch practice," countered Edwin coolly, even as his eyes burned. "Or Merlin forbid, a match. Do you?"

Maggie locked her jaw.

"Do you know what I think, Maggie?" asked Edwin, advancing closer. "I think you give so much time and energy to things like Quidditch and Dueling because in your heart, you are nothing more than a violent person."

Maggie's jaw actually dropped this time. She actually laughed, completely caught off-guard. "Violent?" she repeated, circling Edwin.

"That's right," he said, stock still. "I think you are a hostile, belligerent creature who has spent so many years being told 'yes' that you absolutely can't stand being told 'no.' I think you try to pass it off as bravado and courage, but in reality, you enjoy doing those things because you like hurting people."

Maggie was stunned.

Edwin seemed unmoved. "But at least you're in good company in Gryffindor," he went on flatly, "considering many of them are much the same."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Maggie told him fiercely, finally able to think again. "I want to help people! I want to become an Auror!"

"Why does that not surprise me?" asked Edwin sardonically. "After all, what other profession would allow you to impose your will on virtually every magical citizen in the UK?" Maggie balked, and Edwin stepped closer. "Tell me. When you imagine yourself as an Auror, do you see yourself with the people you will protect? Or the ones you'll punish?"

"I'll bet it's neither," went on Edwin after a moment, his voice low. "I bet you just imagine yourself on a stage at the Ministry, accepting medals and awards for your so-called bravery. All you want is to be seen." Edwin lifted his head, looking down at her even though he was no taller than she was. "Is that it, Maggie? Is that why you feel the need to constantly show off, make a scene, and shout every single thing you say?"

Maggie gripped her wand so tightly, the wood groaned in her palm. The worst part was, Edwin sounded as if he really wanted to know the answers to his questions, like her behavior had been confusing him for the last seven years and he's only just now decided to speak up about it.

"Are you trying to make up for the fact that you're adopted?" he asked, waving an arm. "Or the fact that you're a Muggleborn, pretending to be a Malfoy? What is it, Maggie? What makes you the way you are?"

Maggie's heart beat powerfully in her chest. She could not believe the fury she felt.

"I am not," she said at last between gritted teeth, "a bad person."

Edwin's brows furrowed. "I never said you were a bad person," he told her matter-of-factly. "I said you were loud and obnoxious and aggressive. And I implied that you are a spoiled brat." With a deep scowl, Edwin moved away from her and turned to go back to his room. "I am done talking to you," he said as he turned away.

Maggie felt her fury double over. "COME BACK HERE!" she shouted, lashing out with her wand in a heated flourish.

Every bookshelf in the common room exploded, and Edwin ducked, throwing his arms over his head as books, glassware, and school supplies blasted through the air and then fell to the ground, papers fluttering all around like a dense snow storm.

Maggie's eyes widened. Edwin, his arms still over his head, turned slowly to face her, his own expression stricken with disbelief. His eyes moved around the ruined room, and then he turned back to Maggie, who was trembling.

Edwin's surprise melted away into an expression that was difficult to read. It was grim, and perhaps even disappointed. It certainly was not satisfied, even though Maggie knew in that moment that she had proven him right.

Tears filled Maggie's eyes, and she looked down at her wand. She had not meant to do that. She had not even thought about it. One second, she had been shaking with rage, and in the next, she'd destroyed half the room. Biting her lip, she reached out with a trembling hand and dropped her wand to the table. It fell with a soft wooden clatter, and Maggie turned around without another word.

Edwin must have watched her go, but he, too, remained silent. Maggie reached her door and slipped inside, unwilling to be in front of him anymore.

Maggie spent the rest of the evening deep in thought. The next morning, she went to the Dueling Club's administrator, Professor Lockwood, and quit.

"You want to resign entirely?" he asked, surprised. Maggie had been in the Dueling Club every year at Hogwarts. "Why not just step down as Captain?"

"I'm sorry," she told him. "I just don't have the time."

Professor Lockwood nodded. "I understand."

Maggie left after that, and she spent the hour she would have been at Dueling Club in her room, writing at her desk. After a little while, she gathered up her papers and left her room. She had planned on going to Edwin's room, but she sensed that he was not there. Instead, he seemed to be on the balcony.

Taking in a deep breath, Maggie clutched her papers and went outside.

To her great surprise, Edwin was sitting on a stool in front of an easel, painting on a canvas under the fading afternoon light. Maggie stopped at the door, struck by the sight of it. She had not even known he liked painting. As she watched, Edwin cleaned his brush and then dipped it in a light blue. She could not see the picture, so she did not know if it was any good, but she figured it must be. Edwin put a lot of skill and focus into whatever he was doing. She had learned that much about him.

She cleared her throat, and Edwin looked up. His face registered little surprise, and he turned his eyes back to his canvas. "Yes?" he asked, rather calmly for someone who had nearly been crushed by a pile of books the day before.

Maggie straightened a fold in her robes that didn't really need attention. "I, er – I wanted to go over some thoughts I had for the Governors meeting on Thursday."

Edwin continued to paint. "Does that mean you plan to show up this time?"

Maggie's eyes flickered with annoyance, but she supposed she'd earned such treatment. "Obviously," she said in a mutter.

Edwin shifted back on the stool and looked up at her. "So what is your idea?" he asked evenly.

Maggie stepped forward, showing him the papers. "I've been going over some comments we've gotten from our Prefects this term, and it seems like there are a lot of younger students who are struggling financially. They're not able to buy their school supplies and textbooks. And so I thought – well, why aren't they using the school fund?" Maggie showed him the parchment. "So I asked the prefects, and think it's mostly because students are embarrassed to ask, or they don't want to shame their parents."

Edwin listened attentively, and his eyes lowered briefly as he considered this. "That's understandable. What should we do, then, if they don't want to ask for gold?"

"I think we should just have a fundraiser for the supplies," Maggie told him confidently. "You know, go ahead and stockpile the quills, parchment, and textbooks as much as we can. I feel like it'll be easier for the younger students to just – you know, take a quill out of a communal cabinet or something rather than ask for gold to go and get it during the summer."

Edwin paused before turning back to his painting. He didn't pick up the brush again, but instead just looked at it. "That's a good idea," he told her.

Maggie felt her lips quirk. "Really?"

"Yes." He shifted again. "Why bring it up at the Governor's meeting, though? We aren't really supposed to talk at those. We're meant to simply observe."

Maggie thought about it, and then she shrugged. "I just think it's important that they know these things," she said after a moment. "They need to understand what's going on with the students they serve. The younger ones especially. Otherwise, they're going to believe that their only duty is to blindly drop off gold."

Edwin picked up his brush again. "I suppose that's true," he conceded. He dabbed the brush in a light green. "I'm impressed. I didn't even know you could see poor people."

Maggie dropped the papers with a huff. "Of course I can," she said, rolling her eyes. "I don't know why you would think that."

Edwin's eyes flickered in her direction, and then returned to his painting. "I'll draw up some documents to reinforce your idea, so we can make an official proposal," he said.

"Thank you," managed Maggie, making a concerted effort not to get annoyed. She paused for a long moment as Edwin continued to paint. "Edwin," she said more softly. "I'm sorry for what happened yesterday." She shifted her gaze to the setting sun. It looked very large from where they stood. "I shouldn't have done that. I just – I lost my temper. And I shouldn't have."

Edwin seemed to think about this. His strokes on the canvas slowed. "I appreciate your apology," was his response.

Maggie curled the parchment in her fingers, wanting to say more but not sure how. She turned to leave.

"I didn't say what I said to hurt your feelings," Edwin told her. Maggie stopped, eyes wide with surprise. She turned to face him, and she found he was concentrating very hard on his painting. "I'm sure I did," he continued tonelessly, "but that wasn't my intention."

Maggie had a hard time believing that, but she was glad he'd said something, at least. "I think you and I are just very different people," she observed.

"I agree with that," he replied, cleaning his brush.

"But you know," went on Maggie with a small smile, "you are not very good at making friends."

"I don't want friends," he told her.

"Welp," said Maggie, swinging her arms. "You're doing a great job."

Edwin raised a brow, and Maggie blanched. "That – that was honestly meant to be a compliment," she said. "In my head, it sounded – different – and then it came out of my mouth, and it wasn't." She balked. "I think I'm beginning to understand my problem."

Edwin's eyes flickered over her face, and she could almost – almost see a smile there. He turned back to his painting. "And isn't that," he said wryly, "the stuff of miracles." He leaned back from his painting.

Maggie rolled her eyes, but she felt instantly more at ease. "May I see your painting?" she bit her lip. "I promise I'll leave you alone after."

Edwin looked over at her, and she thought he might refuse her, but he nodded instead. Maggie shifted around him, expecting to see a painting that suited his personality – perhaps a big black amorphous blob, or an angry splatter of red.

Instead, what she saw was a peaceful meadow sitting just below a lovely blue sky. She gasped. "Wow," she said, smiling brightly. "That's beautiful, Edwin!"

Edwin bit his lip, his eyes dropping with what Maggie dared to think of as bashfulness. "Thank you," he said quietly.

"Really!" exclaimed Maggie, before immediately lowering her voice. She cleared her throat a little. "You – You're very talented," she said more gently.

This seemed to embarrass Edwin beyond belief, much to Maggie's amusement. He quickly got up and gathered his things, and Maggie stepped back to allow him room.

"And hey, look," she said after a moment. "I – I quit Dueling Club, okay?"

"Really?" asked Edwin, looking mildly surprised.

"Yeah." Maggie walked into the common room with him. "You were right. Head Girl duties should take precedent." Edwin merely nodded to this, and Maggie sighed. "I just wish I could bloody sleep at night," she admitted to him frankly. "I have been having the most awful nightmares."

Edwin stopped where he was, and Maggie did, too. When she saw the look on his face – so alarmed, in comparison to his usual blank mask – she felt concern well up in her heart.

"What happens in your nightmares?" he asked quietly.

Maggie bit her lip. "It's – it's like a … a shadow? But it feels like a monster. Makes me feel horrible, and then I can't get back to sleep." She smiled sadly. "Nightmares are nothing new to me, but this one is by far the worst. That's why I've been falling asleep during the day." She watched him, waiting to see if he had seen the same thing. She had to know if he was being plagued by her nightmares.

But Edwin merely shook his head and ducked away from her. "I'm sorry," he said in a mumble. "I hope it gets better." After that, he vanished behind his bedroom door.

Maggie sighed and dragged herself to her room.

That night, Maggie slept a solid eight hours. Not once did she have troubled sleep, and when she awoke, she felt wonderfully refreshed.

Over the next few days, Maggie did not have a single nightmare. She watched Edwin to see if he had managed to get some peace as well, but it was hard to tell. He appeared much the same as always.

Maggie wasn't sure what had changed, but even as the month progressed and Halloween neared, the nightmares did not return. She felt like a woman reborn. It was a glorious feeling. As the days progressed, Maggie felt her energy and spirit return.

So of course, she turned to one of her greatest sources of happiness – her record.

Today's song was "You Can't Hurry Love" by The Supremes.

When Edwin entered the tower that day, he found Maggie dancing wildly around the Common Room. He stopped to observe her, looking for all the world like he wanted to submit her to a psychiatric hospital.

"My mama said - you can't hurry love! You just have to wait! She said love don't come easy, it's a game of give and take!" sang Maggie, grinning at Edwin as he came in. He grimaced at her. Things had been better between them over the last week, but that mostly just meant they weren't insulting each other. Edwin still rarely took the time to talk to her.

"Come on, Edwin! Dance with me!"

"No."

Maggie laughed, having expected that response. "Here, I'll turn it off now that you're home," she said, but to her surprise, Edwin waved her off.

"My room is sound-proof," he said.

"Oh," said Maggie. "So it's okay if I listen?" The song changed to "My Girl" by The Temptations.

Edwin eyed her. "Do whatever you like. I won't be able to hear it." He went into his room and shut the door behind him. Maggie shrugged and went back to her music.

Almost every single day, Edwin came into the tower one hour after Maggie and found her already dancing. Now that Maggie was sleeping every night – and now that she had quit the Dueling Club and wasn't so rushed and frantic – she was back to her happy self.

And Edwin was – well, like Edwin.

One day he entered as Maggie was dancing to one of her favorite songs. Maggie danced all around, and Edwin side-stepped her as he usually did, as though she wasn't hopping and skipping all over the room.

"This is a great song from an even greater movie," Maggie told him as she danced. "And it's about a town full of people just like you, Edwin. It's called Footloose. You should watch it."

"No thank you," he said, picking up a book from the shelf. "Did you complete those meeting notes?"

"Right here!" Maggie picked it up and danced her way over to Edwin, who accepted the parchment from her with an exasperated shake of his head. Maggie pistol-winked at him.

On Halloween day, Edwin entered the room to find Maggie dancing to "Thriller" by Michael Jackson. When she spotted him, she turned down the volume on the record player and hopped over. "Hey!" she said, "A bunch of the seventh years are having a Halloween party tonight down in the dungeons. Do you want to go?"

"No," he told her frankly.

Maggie smiled a little and shrugged. "I figured, but I wanted to ask. I mean, you're invited, just so you know." Edwin fell silent, and Maggie went on more gently, "You know, you don't have to dance or anything at those. You can come and just hang out."

Edwin blinked at her, his face so very blank. "Thank you," he said evenly. "But I would rather stay here."

Maggie nodded slowly. "Okay," she said. "Let me know if you change your mind."

She didn't hear from Edwin again that night, and later on, she got ready for the party and left the tower. Night had fallen, and the sky outside was bright and clear. She paused to look out the window of the tower, and she saw a dim light flickering on the balcony. When she peered out, she saw Edwin was sitting in a chair on the balcony with a single candle on the table. There was a book next to him, but it was closed. He was just sitting there, eyes turned up to the crescent moon.

She paused at the doorway, knocking lightly on it. Edwin looked over at her.

"You sure you don't want to come?" she asked, giving him a small smile.

Edwin looked at the book on the table, and he lifted it up so she could see. "Fun reading," he told her simply, and Maggie looked to see it was a novel, rather than a school book.

It didn't match up to Maggie's idea of a good time, but at least he was doing something he enjoyed.

"I hope you like it," she told him sincerely. She went leave, but hesitated. "You can listen to my record player in the common room if you want," she told him. "There's some songs on there I bet you'd like."

"I doubt it," Edwin told her. "Everything I've heard so far sounds like a musical seizure."

Maggie couldn't help but laugh. "You are a total cock sometimes, you know that?" she asked incredulously, and Edwin's eyebrows lifted in surprise at her language, though he quickly rolled his eyes and disguised whatever expression he had by putting his hand on his face.

Maggie held up a finger and went back for her record player. She put on the other outside table, and placed the needle on one section in particular. She didn't turn it on, though.

"If you want to give it a chance, start here. I think you'll like it."

"What is it called? The artist?" asked Edwin.

Maggie smiled. "Billie Holiday. Just try her." After that, she turned and crossed the common room to the portrait.

Maggie stepped through the portrait hole and into the corridor, closing it behind her.

Soon enough, Maggie was down in the dungeons. As soon as she opened the door and stepped into the party, cheers rang out, and Gretchen tackled her from the side.

"Maggie returns to LIFE!" she exclaimed happily, and Maggie laughed.

"Thas' right," she said, before proceeding the spend the night dancing, talking with friends she hadn't seen all term, and feasting on the various treats someone had brought from the kitchens. The music was loud and the room was crowded with people. Maggie couldn't help but feel glad she hadn't talked Edwin into coming. He would have been miserable.

Eugh, Maggie thought to herself. This was the first night all term she had away from Edwin. She needed to stop thinking about him.

"Hey Maggie," came a voice, and Maggie smirked before rounding to face Liam Wilcox, the boy she'd dated last year. Maggie cocked her head at him.

"Well, hello."

Liam grinned. "Want me to get you a drink?"

"I get my own drinks, but thank you," said Maggie. She did indeed make her own drink and then let herself move to the pseudo-dance floor with Liam, who pulled her into his arms and swayed with her.

"So," he said. "Last year, I was an arse."

"I remember," commented Maggie.

Liam chuckled. "Okay, I'm sorry. You were right to break up with me." He tugged her closer, and Maggie's slightly hazy mind registered that – yes, he was certainly still good-looking. He always had been… and he wasn't a bad bloke, really. She'd gotten annoyed with his arrogance last year, but mostly because they were two big personalities trying to co-exist in one relationship.

Liam swayed with her, rubbing his hand up her spine. "But I'm better now," he whispered against her cheek. "Honest."

Maggie looked at him and thought about how nice it would feel to just forget everything, to spend the evening wrapped up in Liam and let herself just relax. She wanted that.

"I don't know if I believe you," she whispered back to him. "You're going to have to convince me."

Liam smirked. "I can do that," he said, dropping his lips to hers. Maggie let him kiss her, and the motion was heated and passionate from the start. The noise, the lights, and the music all seemed to envelop her at once, and Maggie nipped at Liam's lip before tugging him away from the crowd. They fell into a darker area and Liam pressed up against her, mouth working furiously over hers. Maggie quickly set her drink aside and devoted all her attention to Liam's warm, hard body against hers.

His hand gripped her ass and pulled her against him, and Maggie pressed her tongue against his, feeling hot and anxious for someone to just touch her, to make her feel good.

But after a few minutes, she pulled away. "Wait, wait – " she murmured, blinking quickly as she tried to clear her mind. Liam paused, and Maggie shook her head a little. "Sorry, I jus' –" She looked up at Liam. He was such a good-looking guy, and he'd been a good friend before they'd dated. He was cocky, but decent at heart.

And he would definitely show her a good time.

But for whatever reason, Maggie couldn't bring herself to go any further. "I'm sorry, Liam," she said sincerely. "I think I should just go back to my room."

Liam groaned, dropping his head to her shoulder. "But Maggie," he moaned.

Maggie forced her eyes wide open. She hadn't drank in a while, and even her one mixed drink was getting to her. "Sorry, I jus' – "

"Why would you tease me?" he complained.

"I'm sorry your dick gets hard in two seconds, Liam," Maggie told him heatedly, poking him in the shoulder. Liam made a face, and Maggie softened her expression. "Really, I jus' got a lot on my mind. Sorry. I thought this was what I needed, but it's not."

Liam sighed heavily but nodded, pulling away from her some. He looked over her face, and his brows furrowed. "Are you okay? You've been out of it since we got to Hogwarts."

Maggie shrugged.

"Is it that Edwin Prince bloke?" asked Liam, and Maggie blinked at him.

"Why do you ask?"

Liam shrugged. "I mean, it's just weird, you having to live in that tower with him. Bloke is creepy as hell. He's not doing something strange to you, is he?"

Maggie frowned and shook her head. She thought of Edwin sitting alone at a table in the cold Halloween night, reading a book illuminated by a single candle. The thought of him doing something really harmful was almost laughable.

"No, he's – he's actually not that bad," Maggie told Liam. "And even if he was, I can handle it."

Liam looked her over for a moment, and then he nodded. "Thanks for getting me all hot and bothered for nothing," he muttered, lips quirked teasingly.

Maggie smirked, and then she nodded in the direction of the group they'd left behind. "Go try Taryn McElroy. She likes you."

Liam perked up. "She does?"

"Aye. Go for it."

Maggie hugged Liam to her and kissed his cheek before moving away. She knew Gretchen and the others would try to convince her to stay if they saw her leave, so she snuck out of the back door of the room, pausing only long enough to grab some sweets. After a while, she came to the tower portrait and stepped inside the now dark common room.

The dulcet tones of Billie Holiday's voice met her as soon as she was inside, and Maggie's lips quirked. Through the windows, she could see the small flicker of light that meant Edwin was still outside. She'd only been gone about an hour and a half, so she wasn't surprised to see him still at the table.

She stepped outside, and Edwin looked up in surprise from his book. The jazzy voice on the record player continued to sing.

I'll be seeing you… in all the old familiar places…

"You're back early," noted Edwin. Maggie wrapped her cloak tighter around her shoulders. Merlin, it was chilly. She sat in the chair opposite Edwin.

"Yeah, it was – I don't know. Not where I wanted to be, I guess."

Edwin observed her curiously.

"So," said Maggie, leaning forward and putting her chin in her hand, "you like Billie, huh?"

Edwin glanced at the record player and shrugged, but there was something serene in his expression that was not normally there. "It is soothing," he admitted. "This one is my favorite."

Maggie fell silent, and they both listened. After a while, she spoke up, her eyes shifting to the moon over them. "Did you do the whole Halloween thing when you were a little kid? Costumes and… trick-or-treating?" Candy giving for Halloween was still a relatively new idea to witches and wizards, but many of them did it now. Draco and Ginny had taken her when she'd told them about it, and it had been a great source of joy for her as a little girl.

"No," Edwin said. "I never liked Halloween."

"Why not?" asked Maggie.

Edwin shifted in his chair, one elbow on the table as he held his book in his lap. "I was afraid of the dark," he told her softly.

Maggie's lips quirked. "Are you still afraid of the dark?" she asked, careful to keep from sounding as if she was mocking him. She wasn't.

Edwin shook his head. "Not anymore. Night came whether I liked it or not. There was no point in being afraid of something I could not change."

I'll find you… in the morning sun… and when the night is new… I'll be looking at the moon… but I'll be seeing you…

Maggie nodded. "Thas' a good point," she said honestly. She fell silent for a few minutes, and then she reached in her pocket to pull out something wrapped in a napkin. She placed it on the table. "I brought that back from the party for you," she told him.

Edwin raised a brow and used a finger to press back the top of the napkin. "A cauldron cake," he noted with some surprise.

Maggie smiled and shrugged. "I noticed you always eat them in the Great Hall when they're there. But the elves don't make them that often, so I thought… I don't know, you might like it." She paused, before going in a rush, "I know eating sweets at night is a good way to get fat, but I think you're safe."

Edwin's lips quirked, just a little. "Thank you," he said tonelessly.

They both fell silent. Edwin surprised her by speaking up first.

"Are you sleeping better?"

Maggie, who was once more staring thoughtfully up at the moon, looked over at him and smiled. "Yeah, I am. I feel worlds better."

"Good," he said quietly. After that, he picked up the book and the cauldron cake. "Good night."

Maggie watched him go. "Good night," she said softly.

Edwin vanished into his room, and Maggie stayed outside for as long as she could stand the cold. Then she got up and went to her own room, falling heavily onto her bed and enjoying another night of interrupted rest.

The next morning, Maggie awoke and stretched leisurely. She felt a little groggy, maybe because of the drinking, but she was still loads better than before. Getting up, she scratched at her matted curls and crossed her room, preparing to take a shower.

However, something didn't feel right. Maggie's brows furrowed, and she turned, going into the common room, still in her long sleep shirt. She peered across the bright empty room. Nothing seemed amiss. Still, something needled in her chest, and she crossed the room to Edwin's door.

She listened, but she couldn't hear anything. Then she remembered him saying that his room was soundproof. He couldn't hear out, and she assumed that meant she wouldn't be able to hear him inside, either. Maggie glanced at the clock.

It was a Sunday, and the time was near noon. Maggie had slept a long while, but she knew for a fact that Edwin never slept that late. She knocked on his door and waited. Hearing nothing, she knocked on the door harder. "Edwin!" she called out.

Nothing.

Maggie tried his door and found it locked, just like always. She banged on it again. Something felt wrong. She paused and let her mental barriers down, just feeling.

Yes, there was definitely something wrong. She could sense Edwin in the room, but his mind felt muted. That could just mean he was actually asleep, but surely he would have heard her banging on the door? He'd always heard her before, so whatever he used to soundproof his room didn't stop him from knowing when someone was at the door.

"EDWIN! OPEN UP!" shouted Maggie, not sure if he could hear her. She reached for his mind again, just to reassure herself he was in there, but the mental presence she found seemed dull. Maggie took a step back.

Edwin was going to be cross with her for this, but oh well. Maggie went and got her wand, and then she came back to the door.

"Confringo!"

The door swung open and slammed into the wall, and Maggie stepped inside. Immediately, she was jarred by the shrill bell of an alarm. Moving quickly around the four-poster bed, Maggie saw it was Edwin's alarm clock, ringing non-stop. She quickly put a hand over it and looked to the bed, where Edwin was fast sleep.

"Edwin," she said, moving to shake him. He was on his stomach, and his eyes were closed. The bed covers were pulled up around him, and he was wearing blue and white striped pajamas. "Edwin!" she shook him. "Your alarm has been going off for hours, Edwin! Wake up!"

But no matter how much she shook him, Edwin didn't wake. Panic welling her heart, Maggie looked around wildly. That was when she spotted an empty potion bottle next to his bed. Pulling it open, Maggie saw that it was a Dreamless Draught. There were four other identical bottles next to it, all empty.

Merlin's beard.

Maggie tossed aside the bottle and flipped Edwin over onto his back. His limbs fell limply, and he didn't respond. "Edwin, wake up!" she said frantically, pressing her ear to his chest and hearing a faint heartbeat. "Bloody hell!" she hissed, looking all around again.

She looked over him. Edwin couldn't weigh more than one hundred and thirty pounds at the most. She could handle that. With a determined huff, Maggie leaned forward and pulled him to the edge of the bed before lifting him into her arms with a grunt.

Edwin's dead weight was much harder to carry than she had anticipated, but Maggie managed with a grimace, pulling him fully off the bed and then hurrying him into towards his bathroom. She kicked open the door and shifted inside. She stumbled to his shower and dumped him inside, adjusting him so that he was sitting up in one corner of the stall. Then she reached over and quickly twisted on the taps, so that icy cold water shot out of the shower head above. Water hit Edwin in the face and chest, and for a moment, nothing happened.

Then he sputtered, jerking away and gasping loudly. His eyes opened, startled, and he choked on some water, squirming weakly to get away. Maggie let out an incredulous noise, and she jumped to the taps again turning them off now that he was soaked head-to-toe.

"Edwin!" she exclaimed, tears of relief filling her eyes. "Merlin's beard, are you alright? What the hell happened?"

Edwin sputtered, coughing a few times as he looked around blearily, slowly figuring out where he was at. "Mag – Maggie?" he said hoarsely. "What am I doing in here…?"

Maggie flailed. "Bloody hell, Edwin! Your alarm's been going off for hours, it's almost noon! I came in here and – " she swallowed over a lump in her throat. "You wouldn't wake up," she finished in a small voice.

Edwin finally shut his mouth and shakily pushed his wet hair out of his face.

Maggie dropped to her knees, not caring that they got wet on the shower stall tile. "Why would you take all those Dreamless Draughts, Edwin? Do you have a bloody death wish?"

"I didn't – take them all – at once," he managed at last, pushing both hands over his face. "But – the effect was wearing off, I had to… to take more last night…"

He looked even smaller than usual at that moment, soaked to the bone in his faded pajamas.

Maggie shook her head fiercely. "But why, Edwin?"

He let his head fall against the shower stall wall, eyes blinking at her blearily. He swallowed. "Because I couldn't sleep," he murmured, looking exhausted.

Guilt gripped Maggie's heart, and she sat back, splashing some of the excess water on the floor. "Damn it, Edwin… I am so sorry," she said, a tear falling down her cheek.

Edwin stared at her in surprise. "Why would you be sorry?"

Maggie sniffled. "Because – because I think you're seeing my nightmares because of my Legilimecy, and I've – 've always had nightmares, but I don't know where this one came from, and I've been trying to keep it in my brain, but it's so hard – "

"Maggie."

" – and I'm really really sorry – "

"Maggie!"

She stopped and looked up at Edwin, who was still sitting in the corner of his shower stall, dripping water. He touched her arm, and the simple motion shocked Maggie into paying attention.

"What?" she whispered.

Edwin's brows furrowed, and his lips parted for a few seconds before he spoke. "I am not seeing your nightmares," he told her, looking pained. "You're seeing mine."

Maggie's eyes widened. "Are you… are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure," he said, releasing her and pulling back. "I've been having the same ones since I was a little boy."

"Oh," said Maggie softly.

They each sat in silence for a few seconds, and then Maggie got up and grabbed one of his towels off the rack. She extended a hand to him, and Edwin accepted it, letting her pull his weak body up. She wrapped the towel around the shoulders, unable to hide just how shaken she felt. She fretted over the towel, using one corner to dab at his hair even when he flinched.

"Bloody hell, Edwin, I was so – scared, I thought – I thought you weren't going to wake up."

Edwin reached up and stilled her hand. "I'm fine," he said after a long moment. He had retreated once more, housing all his emotion behind an indifferent tone. But there was something in the way his eyes looked, and she saw a flicker of emotion that had not been there before. He was shaken, too.

Maggie took in a deep breath and nodded, letting her hands drop from the towel. Edwin glanced beyond her to the bed, and his brows furrowed again. "Did you… carry me in here?" he asked.

Maggie glanced in the direction of his gaze. "Yeah." She looked back to Edwin, and finally, she let herself smile a little. "Why? Are you embarrassed?"

Edwin gave her a Look, and Maggie's smile grew. "What do you think?" he asked flatly.

Maggie shrugged, letting her hands hit her sides. "Well, you shouldn't be. I mean, just because you looked like a damsel in distress – "

"Get out."

Maggie's lips pursed with the effort not to giggle. Edwin seemed much better now. She turned to head to the door, and when she glanced over her shoulder back at Edwin, she saw he was watching her. The towel was still around his shoulders, and he was dripping water on the floor of his bedroom.

"What is it, Edwin?" she asked from the door. "The shadow?"

Edwin blinked at her. "Exactly what it looks like, I suppose," he said quietly. "A monster."

Maggie sensed she wasn't going to get any more information from him, so she nodded and left the room.