Author's Note:

To a guest review from kat-

Thank you so much, I'm glad you're enjoying it!

In response to a guest review from Ryo-

Yes, I'm sure things will be looking up for Maya later on in the year, we'll just have to wait and see!

In response to a guest review from valencia-

Thank you so much for your review! Yeah, in later chapters Draco will start being less of a git (though we all know he is one, lol). I'm glad you liked that bit with the ring, I was so worried people would hate it that I almost edited it out of the story and reposted the chapter, but it's nice to know I was wrong!

—

Well, I hope everyone enjoys this next chapter, and I'm sorry about the wait.

I also rewatched the scene in which the Care of Magical Creatures class took place in the movies, and I know I got the description of the area wrong, considering the lake wasn't within view because of the trees, but I felt like it would conjure a more pleasant image and before they show Buckbeak flying out of the trees (it's right when he's taking off) it looks like there's a more…open space than there actually is, so that's why I described it the way I did.

Anyways, enough of my note, hope you enjoy the chapter!

Chapter Fourteen (Year Three): The First Day Back

She hadn't remembered falling asleep, but she did remember what followed. The dementor returned in Maya's sleep to haunt her dreams. Maya was back on the train car with Aspen, and the creature kept menacing the two of them. The nightmare had ended just as Dumbledore's words about the dementor could be heard and the creature jerked towards Maya.

That was when she jerked up, finding herself safe and sound in her bed. Memory came flooding back. She had fallen asleep rather late, and checking her watch to see what time it was, Maya realized that at most she had only had about two or three hours of sleep at most, which explained why she still felt so awful.

Maya pushed herself out of bed, noticing that it was only just starting to get light outside. She went over to the window, pushing back the blue-lace curtains and peering outside at the grey clouds that hung in the sky. It looked as if it was going to rain later that day. In the distance you could see the dementors hovering in the sky. She shuddered, remembering that she was going to have to deal with these things until they caught this Sirius Black fellow.

"This is going to be a long year, isn't it, Aspen?" Maya asked Aspen, who's ears twitched in response. She looked at Maya with what could be considered a sympathetic look, and she hopped off of the bed and clambered onto Maya's shoulder, looking out the window and rubbing her nose against Maya's cheek. "Well, at least I still have you…"

The class that Maya had been looking forward to the most had been Care of Magical Creatures, mainly because she was looking forward to learning about animals that lived in the wizarding world. The only downside, was that it was outdoors, which was where the dementors would be. She had planned to skip the class and hide out in the library, but she reminded herself that the dementors would be guarding the entrances to the grounds, not the grounds themselves.

So, she joined the crowd of third years on their way down to the gamekeeper's hut, looking nervously in all directions. It was a lovely day, but the thought of the dementors ruined it for Maya. In fact, she was sure she looked ridiculous, scanning the sky for any sign of the dementors. She jogged lightly in order to get to the hut faster.

"That's it, come on now, come closer," Hagrid was saying as Maya approached, working her way to the middle of the crowd, "Less talking, if you don't mind," once everyone went silent, he said, "I got a real treat for you today. A great lesson! Follow me!" Hagrid (Professor Hagrid?) led the group of kids away from his hut and led them all along the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

It took a while, but they eventually came to a sunnier part of the woods and Hagrid led them inside. Maya liked the safe feeling of the trees over her head, where the dementors (hopefully) could not and would not go. While the dusty clearing they were in appeared to have come to be naturally, there was stone that resembled a wall similar to the one that surrounded Maya's grandparents' garden, except that this stone covered more of a spacious area, it had a few trees and large boulders inside it, it was surrounded by forest on three sides, and on the one free, open side, it overlooked the lake.

Maya risked wandering away from the group a few feet to get a better look at the lake, but she still listened to the talking going on around her.

"All right, you lot, less chattering, and form a group over there!" said Hagrid to all of them, pointing to one end of the short stone wall, "And open your books to page 49!"

Draco looked down at his book and then at Hagrid, "Exactly how do we do that?!" he demanded.

"You just stroke the spine, of course! Goodness me!" said Hagrid, as if it was obvious, and then he began to walk off, leaving the Third Years alone.

Maya raised an eyebrow, watching the rest of the class as they all tried to do as Hagrid had told them. Draco examined the book and traced two fingers along the spine, looking over at Hagrid's retreating figure with this…odd expression that resembled the sneer that he always wore. Everyone else began to 'pet' their books, while Maya and Carol had already managed to open their books, flipping through them to the right page.

"Hippogriffs…" Maya murmured out loud, walking past Neville Longbottom (who was struggling with his book), reading a few parts off of the page in her head. "Is...is that what we're studying today…?" it was rhetorical, and everyone was too distracted to have heard her and respond anyways. Maya kept the book open, muttering every now and then, sitting down on the stone wall, her nose in the book, while still monitoring everything going on around her.

"I think they're funny…" said Hermione Granger, likely about the books.

"Oh yeah, terribly funny. Really witty," scoffed Draco, who's gang of Slytherins had gathered near her. Maya rolled her eyes at him, but he went on, regardless of her disapproval, "God, this place has gone to the dogs. Wait until my father hears that Dumbledore's got this oaf teaching classes!" he turned to his friends with a smirk, and they chuckled to show their support.

Some people — Maya included — were not as amused by this, though Harry Potter was the only one to say something about it, "Shut up, Malfoy," he said sternly, marching forward a few steps, then stopping and watching for Draco's reaction.

Draco and his gang all went 'ooooh!' — even though Draco sounded more like a hoot owl — as if they wanted to see a fight or something. Draco slid his bag off of his shoulder and dropped it onto Crabbe's arm, taking a step or two over to Potter. He looked the Gryffindor up and down, then he looked up and shouted loudly while pointing at the sky, "DEMENTOR! DEMENTOR!"

Maya, her nose having been glued to her book in hopes of ignoring everyone around her, fell backwards off the wall when she heard his shout, landing on the ground on the other side of the wall. She didn't move or react until she heard sudden laughter a split second later, and Maya scrambled back over the wall, finding her palm and knee scraped from when she fell. She glared daggers at Draco and his friends as they threw the pointed hoods on their robes over their heads and waved their finger, going, "OoooooOOhhh!" in a very strange imitation of a dementor.

Hagrid clearing his throat was the only thing that stopped Maya from picking up the nearest rock and chucking it at Draco's head. Everyone looked towards their teacher and once he was sure he had gotten their attention, he raised his arms wide and imitated a trumpet. Everyone looked at the thing with disgust, confusion, and fear, while Maya was rather impressed by it. Standing behind Hagrid was something that resembled two different animals. It had the front part and wings of an eagle and the back end of a horse.

A real hippogriff? Was everything that Maya read about in fairy-tails real?

"Isn't he beautiful?" Hagrid asked them, throwing a fish at the hippogriff. The grey creature leapt up to catch it in his mouth, swallowing it whole. "Say hello, to Buckbeak!"

"Hagrid…" said Ron Weasley, sounding scared, "…exactly what is that?"

"That, Ron, is a hippogriff," Hagrid replied, walking forward towards the class so they could hear him better, "First thing you want to know about hippogriffs, is that they're very proud creatures. Very easily offended. You do not want to insult a hippogriff, or it just may be the last thing you ever do." Maya gulped, watching Buckbeak very carefully. "Now!" Hagrid smiled, clapping his hands together, "Who'd like to come and say hello?"

Maya started forward, but someone behind her grabbed her arm and pulled her back with the rest of the class. She frowned and turned around to see that Carol was shaking her head 'no', and Maya freed her arm and looked back over at Buckbeak as Hagrid said to Potter, "Well done, Harry, well done!" Maya couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealousy as Potter hesitantly made his way towards Buckbeak.

"Now, you have to let him make the first move, it's only polite," Hagrid instructed, "So, step up, give 'im a nice bow, then you wait an' see if he bows back. If he does, you can go an' touch 'im. If not…well…we'll get to that later."

Potter walked forward nervously and then bowed down as low as he could when Hagrid told him to. Buckbeak let out a inquisitive squawk, and flared his wings, squawking very loudly and angrily. "Back off, Harry, back off!" Hagrid said quickly, and when Potter took a step back, his heel broke a stick and it made a loud SNAP. Everyone gasped, and Hagrid kept telling Potter to keep still.

After a few seconds, Buckbeak let out a soft and curious squawk, stretching out his neck and then lowering it, lifting on of his front legs. He had just bowed back to Potter. Maya wished it had been her out there instead, but she tried her best to not feel jealous as Hagrid said, "Oh! Well done, Harry, well done!" he tossed a fish to Buckbeak and the hippogriff caught it and did the same thing it had done before. Potter straightened up, and Hagrid informed him, "Right, you can go an' pat 'im now. Go on. Don't be shy."

Draco and the Slytherins shoved their way to the front of the group for a front-row seat and Draco bit down on a green apple that made Maya wonder if he was even allowed to have. She decided to take advantage of the fact that there was a gap between the Gryffindors and the Slytherins, and she moved through it to get a better view of what was going on. Carol followed her. When Crabbe and Parkinson noticed them, she wrinkled her nose, but continued to watch without saying anything.

Potter moved forward, quivering fearfully. He kept his hand out, and every now and then Buckbeak would snap towards him, but he didn't try to attack Potter or anything. After a minute or so, Potter stopped and Buckbeak met him the rest of the way, walking forward and pressing his head against Potter's palm to allow the boy to stroke his head.

The class relaxed exactly when this happened, the worry fading away as they all came to the conclusion that Buckbeak was at least somewhat safe to be around. He was unpredictable, though. All animals were. You never knew what they would do next, and while they were very loyal and loving companions, they could still hurt you if you made a wrong move, and Buckbeak was definitely not an exception. Maya eyed his talons when she thought about this, and shuddered.

"Yes! Well done!" Hagrid and the other students — except for Draco and his gang — began to clap. "Well done, Harry!" Potter looked very happy, at least until Hagrid said, "I think 'e might let you ride 'im now."

"What?"

"Come on," Hagrid said, lifting Potter up off the ground and ignoring the boy's (extremely) loud protests and carrying him over to Buckbeak's side and placing him on the hippogriff's back, "Jus' don't pull out any of 'is feathers! He won't thank you for that!"

Hagrid's massive hand came down on Buckbeak's rump and the hippogriff reared up, sqauwking loudly and he struck out with his front talons before thrusting forward with his back legs and galloping forward like a horse. Just before he reached the stone wall his wings lifted up and whooshed back down a few times, lifting him into the air with Potter on his back. Everyone raced over to the wall, watching as Buckbeak flew into the air over the lake and then he was out of sight.

After a few minutes, Buckbeak came back into view and Hagrid whistled, calling Buckbeak back. He flew down and galloped a few seconds before skidding to a halt. Everyone was clapping, a few people shouting out things. Maya happened to be awe-struck and went, "Wow! So cool!" while she was clapping, without noticing Draco overhearing and getting up.

He walked over to her and seethed, "You think Potter is so holy, don't you Mudblood? All because he can pet a hippogriff? Pfft, I'll show you…"

"Draco!" Maya squeaked as he pushed past her and shoved a few kids aside to get to Buckbeak.

"Yes, you're not dangerous at all, are you? You great ugly brute!" Draco said, striding over to Buckbeak. The creature was obviously taking this as a sign of aggression — and being honest, it was one — because Buckbeak reared up and Draco's smug expression likely faded away soon after. The class screamed and scatted back against the wall. Draco brought his arm up and covered his face as Buckbeak's talons struck out. He tried to back away, but it was too late and Maya watched helplessly as Draco fell onto his back, the sleeve on his robe ripped and bloody. He was moaning pathetically, "Oh, it's killed me! It's killed me!"

"Calm down!" Hagrid said frantically, "It's just a scratch!"

"Hagrid!" Granger said, racing forward. "He has to be taken to the hospital!"

"I'm the teacher, I'll do it!" Hagrid reached down and lifted Draco up, carrying him away.

"Oh, you're gonna regret this —" Draco started, sounding as if he was in pain.

"Class dismissed!" Hagrid called back.

"— you and your bloody chicken!"

"Do…you think he's all right?" Maya asked Carol once they had finished their classes for that day. Dinner wouldn't be long after.

"Who? Malfoy? Probably," said Carol, not really interested in Draco's well-being, "but if you ask me, he got what he deserved. Shouldn't've been messing with a hippogriff like that, I mean, even a Gryffindor would know better than that! Honestly, what goes through that foolish boy's head is far beyond me." Carol talked like an elderly lady sometimes, and Maya wondered just how much time she spent around her grandmother.

"Err — I-I'll see you tomorrow, Carol," Maya tried to think of an excuse, and remembered that she hadn't washed off her palm and her knee from when she fell off the wall, and used that, "I need to…get this —" she presented her bloodied up hand and knee, "— fixed up. It really hurts."

Carol blinked a couple of times, "Okay," she said suspiciously, "maybe I'll see you at dinner or something. Better yet, I could go with you?"

"No!" Maya told her quickly. Too quickly. "I mean — um…I-I might be a while, and I want to ask Madam Pomfrey a rather — uh — personal question." Carol seemed to get the idea, and nodded, telling Maya to go ahead and goodnight. So, Maya hurried off in the direction of the hospital wing.

When she reached the doors and pushed one open, she found that it was empty except for Draco, who was laying in a bed towards the middle of the row he was in. Maya bit her lip and started forward cautiously, looking around at the candles and praying that she wasn't caught by Madam Pomfrey. When she reached Draco's bed, he looked like he was asleep, but as soon as she began to search for a chair to sit down in, his eyes opened. "You're awake?" she asked him.

"Yeah —" he put on a pitiful look and groaned, "— I'm in too much pain to sleep."

"Cut the act, Malfoy," she spat in a low whisper, "I'm not buying it. I heard what you said to me, and for your information I don't think Potter is 'holy' as you put it, but guess what? I didn't see you volunteering to pet him and I didn't see you doing what Hagrid instructed you to do, and actually —"

"Kensington!" Draco snatched her wrist up and she sucked in a sharp breath, narrowing her eyes on him. "I get the idea, but could you shut up and listen?"

Maya yanked her wrist away from him and crossed her arms, "Fine. I'm listening."

"Well," Draco moved his pillow and sat up, "when I saw you cheering for Potter, I thought that you thought he was…better than me. I just…didn't want to lose a friend, that's all."

"So you call me a 'mudblood' — again — and put yourself in the hospital!" Maya threw her arms up dramatically, "Sounds like a really great idea doesn't it, how's it working out for you?" She sighed and pressed her hand to her head, "Draco Malfoy, you are a jerk and an idiot."

Draco smirked, "Don't remind me."

"So far," Maya said, ignoring him, "I don't really want to see you again."

"Listen. Kensington," Draco said, sounding…well, nicer, than he normally did, "I'm sorry…please, let me…make it up to you. Somehow. We can spend time studying, talking, reading…even spend some time in Hogsmeade later this year, if you'd like and if I can get away from the Slytherins long enough to not be seen. We can repair the friendship we had in our first year, please."

Maya stared at him for a moment. So he continues to hurt her, and expects her to still want to be his friend? Don't say anything, Maya thought, but her mouth murmured out, "…fine…" Wow, Maya, you're as stupid as he is, she heard in her mind say after she said that. Draco smiled and thanked her. Since Maya couldn't find Madam Pomfrey, she decided to sit on the the chair next to Draco's bed and talk with him, but as soon as she sat down, Madam Pomfrey came to check on Draco.

"Excuse me, young lady, what are you doing disturbing my patient at such a late hour?"

"Oh…s-sorry, ma'am," Maya jumped up, "I was just…wondering if I could see you?"

"Are you hurt, dear?" Pomfrey asked in a calmer tone.

"O-Only a few scrapes — one on my hand and the other on my knee — they aren't severe, b-but they sting pretty badly," she showed her hand and Pomfrey and the woman examined it, beckoning for Maya to follow her over to another bed, away from Draco's. Madam Pomfrey tended to Maya's scrapes, healing them in a split second and telling her to hurry off to the Great Hall. Maya hesitated, "I have…a question, to ask you, i-if that's okay?"

"Yes, dear, go ahead, I'm listening."

"Well, I-I was wondering if — well, you see I — uh — I haven't exactly been feeling…myself, lately."

Pomfrey raised an eyebrow, "Can you elaborate, please? I won't know if I can help you unless you tell me more."

"I just feel…depressed. I've felt that way all summer, and now that school's started back…" Maya trailed off. "Is there a…spell or something that you could use?"

"I'm afraid not," Pomfrey replied, "I can't make you happy, you have to do that for yourself. The only medicine I can give you is to suggest that you eat enough, exercise and get outside, and get plenty of rest. Spend time with a few friends, as well. You'll feel better in no time."

Maya nodded and turned to leave, then stopped, "Also, how long will Malfoy be here?"

"I'm keeping him over night, why do you need to know?"

"Uh…someone he knows was asking. That's all." Maya walked down the aisle between the rows of beds, and said goodnight to Draco.

Once she was out of the hospital, she broke into a run in order to get to the Great Hall. Luckily for her, she was just in time for dinner, and no one questioned her brief absence. For most of the night, she pondered what Madam Pomfrey had told her, and she went over the list in her head, being sure to copy it down before bed and before she fell asleep.