Would you believe it? I still don't own Harry Potter...

Chapter Twelve

Adults, Maia had decided over the course of the last week, were ridiculous creatures. There had been much whispering, many conversations, numerous arguments, and Professor Lupin had almost stormed out of the house, until dad persuaded him otherwise.

In the end, it had been her mother who cast the deciding vote (throughout the entire process none of them had thought to ask her what she wanted) and announced that she would be attending Aunt Irma's and Aunt Cassiopeia's classes. Apparently, the educational, and more importantly social, advantages were too significant. Caroline wanted her daughter to mix with the right 'sort', regardless of whether or not the right 'sort' were muggles or magical. There was a reason her school fees had been equal to the cost of a rather nice car. Though at this point, Caroline would have been thrilled to throw Maia in a room with any children under the age of ten, regardless of what 'sort' she thought they were.

So, it was now Thursday and she was standing in front of the fireplace, clutching a handful of floo powder in her fist.

"If you don't like it, you can come back straight away." Said Professor Lupin, "I can teach you Latin, if you want, and anything else for that matter."

"Nonsense," hushed Caroline, smoothing the fabric of Maia's new robe "don't listen to him. You're going to have a wonderful day and meet lots of new children and make lots of new friends. Of course, if you really aren't happy, you can come home whenever you want. But just give it a try. I'm sure you'll have a fantastic day."

Marius rolled his eyes. Caroline was so desperate for Maia to 'interact', as she put it, that she was blinding herself to the danger of the situation. But then, he was not in the habit of denying his wife anything... And there were advantages, he supposed... "Make sure you behave yourself, and mind your manners." He said, stiffly. It was good for her to be accepted in the wizarding world, he didn't want her to share his shame, or feel she was an outcast, or ought to make herself an outcast, because of what had happened to him all those years ago.

Maid nodded, "Yes, father." She turned to the fireplace, tossed in the powder and watched the flames turn green. She said the address clearly and stepped into the grate, suddenly overcome by the sense that she'd been thrown over a cliff.

She stood up, coughing, and climbed out of the fireplace on the other end, brushing the dust off her. Two elderly women – even older than her parents – were waiting for her. They both wore black dresses trimmed with lace and broaches clasped at their throats. Both wore their hair wound tightly in buns on top of their heads. They both appeared very stern.

"Is this her?" Asked one.

"Yes." Replied the other, who Maia recognised her as Aunt Cassiopeia. "Maia Violetta, come here and be introduced to your aunt."

Maia walked forwards slowly, careful to do everything that Professor Lupin and her father had taught her. She stopped just before the two women and curtseyed deeply. "Good morning, Aunt Cassiopeia. Thank you very much for allowing me to come."

Aunt Cassiopeia nodded stiffly. The girl wasn't half as bad as she had expected, and her expectations had been very negative. "Irma, this is our niece Maia Violetta Black, Maia Violetta, this is your Aunt Irma Black, nee Crabbe."

Cassiopeia looked the girl up and down again. She had a duty to ensure that her niece, her magical, niece was raised correctly. Her unfortunate heritage was not her fault and she showed a great deal of magical promise. A full Burning Hex, at her age... Even darling Bellatrix wouldn't have been able to do that. Sometimes, when blood was mixed, there could be positive results. The blood traitor Andromeda had given birth to a Metamorphmagi after wedding the mudblood. It was possible that there could be something special about this half-blood as well. It was rare for a Squib to have a magical child, after all...

Maia dropped into another curtsey. "I'm very pleased to meet you, Aunt Irma."

"And I you." Replied Aunt Irma, though her enthusiasm did sound rather non-existent.

"Maia, I understand that you have done very well in your lessons so far. However, you haven't covered any of what we will be teaching you. On Thursdays, we concentrate on languages. You will be learning French and Latin to start with, with the other younger children. Then, as you get older, you will also learn Gobbledegook. You will be behind, but if you apply yourself, you will catch up."

"Yes, Aunt Cassiopeia, thank you."

"Good, then, on Fridays, we often practice rhetoric and may put on some plays." Maia couldn't help but beam. This was starting to sound like an awful lot of fun. Why had dad been so against it? "On Saturdays we practice our music or do painting. For now, it is your choice, but as you get older, you will be expected to do both." Cassiopeia paused, to make sure that Maia was keeping up. Maia nodded enthusiastically. "So, would you like to paint, or would you like to learn an instrument?"

"I would like to learn an instrument, please." There was a huge piano back home that she'd tried to open many times with very little success.

"You will learn to play both the piano and the harp."

"Thank you, Aunt Cassiopeia, Aunt Irma."

"Very well. I'm pleased that you have learnt your manners so well already. These lessons aren't just to make you good at magic, although we will start to teach you magic as you get closer to your Hogwarts years. The aim is make sure that you are a good representative for your family name. You must learn to walk proudly and confidently, to express yourself elegantly, to be able to hold a good conversation and do yourself justice in any social situation. Now, if you will follow me, I teach the younger children. Aunt Irma teaches the older ones."

Aunt Irma walked away quickly, without saying anything else to her. Maia followed Cassiopeia nervously; she didn't know any of these other children. At the muggle school she had always been popular, but what if these children didn't like her? Rosie and Holly had stopped liking her so quickly! And she had already decided that this was not a home in which pranks and jokes were welcomed.

They turned into a side room where a number of children were sitting at a wide wooden dining table, much like the one she shared with Professor Lupin, and they all stood up when Cassiopeia entered the room.

"Good morning children."

"Good morning Aunt Cassiopeia." They chorused.

Cassiopeia gestured towards Maia, "Children, this is your cousin Maia Violetta Black. She will be joining us from now on. Who can tell me which constellation the star Maia is in?"

All the hands rose into the air, and Cassiopeia pointed at the only other girl in the room. "The star Maia is in the Taurus constellation, Aunt Cassiopeia."

"Very good, Daphne."

"Who was the last person to carry the first name Violetta in the Black family tree?"

A chubby, golden haired boy raised his hand. Cassiopeia nodded, "Violetta Bulstrode, who married Cygnus Black."

"Very good, Ernst. Now, I want all of you to come here and properly introduce yourself to your cousin."

The children all moved back from the table, Maia thought that they were oddly well behaved, but then even she didn't have the nerve to dispute Aunt Cassiopeia. The lined up in front of her and came forwards to introduce themselves one at a time. The boys bowed, while the two girls both curtseyed to each other. Maia was pleased that there weren't too many names to remember. The girl was called Daphne Greengrass and Maia thought that she was very pretty and grown-up, although they were the same age. The next two boys were called Vincent and Gregory. Then there was a boy with pale blonde hair who smiled at her when he introduced himself as Draco Malfoy. Then came the last boy, Ernst Macmillan. His blonde hair was more golden than Draco's and he had round, flushed cheeks. He seemed more friendly than any of the others. Then, she was sent to her seat, told off for slouching, and proceeded to spend the next few hours reciting French grammar. At first, it was dull. Then, when she realised that she understood it faster than Vincent and Gregory already, she really started to enjoy it.

When the clock struck twelve, Aunt Cassiopeia dismissed them to go and help themselves to lunch, which the house-elves had laid out in the next room. She followed her cousins (apparently, they were all her cousins to a greater or lesser extent) and gawped when she saw the tables in the next room. They were practically groaning under the weight of the food. There was even a Victoria sponge cake. She turned to Daphne, "Is there always this much food?"

"Oh yes, they don't want us to get hungry when they make us study so hard. The older children eat in the next room. They keep us separate so that we don't bother them. They're all the ones who are going to Hogwarts in the next two years. Then some of the others come back to study over the holidays as well."

"Oh, who are they?"

"Cedric Diggory's here at the moment, although Cassiopeia and Uncle Amos had a huge argument after he tried to arrest you. I read the paper as well, and he almost didn't come back, but they make up in the end. Then there's Mecurius and Numitor Avery, they're a year apart. Then there's my big sister Queenie. She's going to Hogwarts in September with Mecurius, so she'll be a fourth year when we start. Everyone else is at school now."

Maia blushed, "I'm sorry they argued about it."

Ernst – who had told her to call him Ernie the moment Aunt Cassiopeia was out of earshot - walked over to them and handed them a plate each. "Here you go, ladies. And you shouldn't feel sorry for it at all though, Maia, it's hardly your fault they behaved so barbarically. My father says they should have been sent to Azkaban. Pointing a wand at a muggle!"

Together, the three of them made their way over to the buffet, and Maia started to load her plate with food. "Mother was really angry about it, but she was very brave." She said.

Draco turned round from picking up his second slice of cake, "Is it true then? That your mother's a muggle?"

"Yes."

"And your father's a Squib?"

"Yes."

Draco chewed his lip. "So you're not a pureblood then, not really?"

"Draco!" cried Ernie, rushing to her defence.

"No, but it seems that you're stuck with me as a cousin anyway."

Draco looked her up and down, "Well, you certainly look like a Black." He smiled, "My mother was a Black before she married my father. So I guess that means that we're proper family. I'll look out for you, I won't let any of them give you hassle when we get to Hogwarts."

Maia scoffed, "Who says you won't need me to look after you, cousin?"

Draco paused, but then mum had already told him that she might have been bought up oddly. Maybe she didn't know what it meant to be a pureblood and that when she was sorted into Slytherin – they would all go to Slytherin, of course – some of the older students might be mean? Mum had said that he would have to be tactful around her. If Aunt Cassiopeia wanted her to be taught with the family, she might even have her recognised. It wouldn't do to upset her. Draco looked at her again. She certainly looked like all the other Blacks on the family tree back home and she was probably his closet relative her. He'd been watching her during the lessons and already knew that she was smart, and she seemed funny and had guts as well. She'd probably be a useful friend to have; she might even be a fun friend to have. He decided then that he'd be better that tactful to her. He'd look out for her and make sure she got on ok. He quite liked imagining himself in some kind of big brother role. Anyway, he wouldn't upset or worry her about the whole Slytherin/pureblood thing now. Instead, he just laughed, "We'll see about that!"

And, of course, he couldn't upset or disobey his mother when she had told him to be nice. Father had told him to ignore her, of course, but mother had been so happy to find another Black. Father might care if he knew, but he would probably never notice. And to care, he had to notice.

The four children spent the rest of their break chatting on the sofas, while Vincent and Gregory remained within closer reach of the buffet. The rest of the afternoon was spent learning Latin, and they went home at four. Draco, Daphne and Ernie all said they were looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. Draco even said that his dad was taking them all to a Quidditch match on Sunday, and he'd try and get him to book her a ticket at well.

Maia was practically bursting with excitement when she jumped into the fire to take her home.

...

Trixie beamed when Marius thanked her for their wonderful dinner – toad in the hole – and Caroline said that she had, once again, outdone herself.

As they waited for their pudding, Caroline asked Maia to, once again, tell her about the other children there. Maia had to fight the urge to roll her eyes, while Marius gave into temptation.

"There were two boys who I didn't talk to much, but Ernie was very friendly. I spent most of my free time talking to him, Daphne and Draco. Daphne's ridiculously pretty and very girly, I think, but I liked her anyway. Draco was also nice. He seemed very surprised that neither of you could do magic, but we got on really well. He said his dad might be able to take me to a real Quidditch match on Sunday. The lessons were fun, Latin is more fun than French. Aunt Cassiopeia and Aunt Irma are both really strict and a bit grumpy –" Marius snorted into his wine, and Caroline glared at him for daring to interrupt this wonderful moment where their daughter spoke about children her own age, rather than her private tutor or her house elf –"but I don't think they're too bad. I think they're just really old."

"That's simply wonderful, sweetheart. So you want to go again tomorrow?"

"Yes, mum. I have told you this six times already."

"I know, dear." Said Caroline, smiling happily to herself.

Even Marius, that night as he climbed into bed, couldn't help but smile. He was concerned about Cassiopeia and the other children, but his concerns were decreasing. The wizarding world had been at war barely a few years before, surely that had taught them to lessen their prejudice? More than that, Cassiopeia at least had had time to mellow with age. It seemed that way, now that his darling daughter, his beautiful daughter, would be taught with the best of the wizarding world. His daughter, the daughter of a muggle and a Squib, was mixing with the finest, raised to their level. He had always wanted to give her everything. He would have laid all the gold and silver in the world at her feet if he could have. Yet, more than anything else, he wanted to see her smile. He wanted to see her happy. And now she was.

The lessons would continue.

...