Author's Note:
I tried to get back to my usual five-seven day updating schedule, but I failed miserably. But, here's a brand new chapter for ya'll. And I introduce someone who later may play an important role in the story (and someone who also deserves more attention in the HP fanfiction world)!
And, early Happy Halloween to those who celebrate it.
Chapter Thirty-Five (Year Six): The Greengrass Confrontation
Maya pulled off her gloves as she stepped into The Three Broomsticks. She turned to Astoria who had been her companion to Hogsmeade. "Thanks for coming shopping with me. I know buying quills isn't the most entertaining thing in the world."
"It's no problem, really," Astoria shrugged, smiling. She was probably the nicest Slytherin that Maya knew, aside from Carol's brother, Charles. "Now, I'm just ready for some butterbeer. I've got loads of new stuff to tell you that all happened over the summer all the way up to this morning, and I think you'll find it very interesting. I'll find us a table if you'll get us the drinks?"
"Pfft, of course! Your wish is my command," Maya replied sarcastically, holding out her hand to her unlikely friend. "You're paying for your own, Miss Bossy." Astoria sighed and reluctantly handed her the amount of the price for one butterbeer. "Thank you." Maya headed over to the counter to order, at least that way she and Astoria wouldn't be interrupted by a waiter coming to ask and deliver their drinks. She would have been hanging out with Lewis and Carol, but Carol had the flu after Quidditch practice in the rain and Lewis had gotten detention for being caught in the library after hours, so Astoria, a fourth year student and friend of Maya's since the previous year, went along with her.
She reached the bar and the lady behind it asked, "What can I get for you?"
"Two butterbeers, please," Maya replied, dropping Astoria's coins and her own onto the counter, sliding them forward for the woman to take. "One regular and one with some mint in it, please." A raised eyebrow, but the money was accepted and within a few moments, the drinks were set on the bar for Maya to take. "Thank you," she said and picked them up, carrying them over to the table where she passed Astoria the mint free one and then sat down with hers. "Now, what was this you were saying about having 'loads' to tell me?"
Astoria took a large gulp of her butterbeer and set it on the table, licking the froth from around her mouth. Maya rolled her eyes and slowly sipped on hers as Astoria began to tell every detail of her summer, then began to talk about the owl Maya had given her (she named him Merlin), and then she talked about the recent Slytherin drama. Evidently, Draco had been paying less attention to Pansy than usual, Pansy got mad, Draco broke things off with her, and Pansy was now dating Theodore Nott. "Oh, and you'll never guess who's recently taken a fancy to you!" Astoria whispered, glancing around quickly.
Maya, having been forced to pretend that she was interested, suddenly perked up. "Who?" Her question was a little more frightened than anything. The last thing she wanted was someone to start chasing after her.
"Blaise Zabini, which is really weird," Astoria replied. "Pureblood family. Ugh, you wouldn't believe how many dinner parties I've been dragged along to at his mother's house. She's filthy rich, right up there with the Malfoys, and as such, her son is well-respected. Eh…sort of. He's pretty well-known in Slytherin. Anyways, he likes blood purity a whole lot. He's actually kinda like Draco. Really kinda nice when you get to know him. He has a rough exterior, that's all."
"Okay? You're telling me this because…?" Maya was growing uninterested once again.
"Well…because he just walked in and I overheard him ask Draco if he'd be bothered by him asking you out, since you're Draco's ex-girlfriend and you wouldn't want it to be awkward, y'know?" Astoria looked up and towards the door and sure enough, Maya turned around to see the very subject of the conversation striding over to their table. Maya tilted her head to the side as he stopped at the table. "Hi, Zabini!" Astoria greeted him cheerfully. He replied with a curt nod.
Blaise looked to Maya, "Mind if I have a seat?"
"Umm…sure, I guess," Maya told him. It was weird. She never thought that Blaise would actually show some sort of interest in her. From what she knew, he had a thing for Daphne Greengrass, Astoria's older sister. She looked at Astoria as if to ask the question, but Astoria shrugged and took another swig of butterbeer. Mildly disgusted, Maya drummed her fingers on her glass. "So, umm…Blaise? Pardon me for sounding rude, but…why did you want to sit here?"
"I'm not staying long, actually, as I agreed to meet Theodore and Pansy to go to the Shrieking Shack," Blaise told her. "I actually came to ask you something, Kensington. Next Hogsmeade weekend, I was wondering if you'd be interested in coming with me? We can do whatever you'd like, and get to know each other better." Maya glanced nervously from him to Astoria. Blaise seemed genuine, and this was a side that Maya hadn't seen from him during their brief encounters.
"Well, I-I'm flattered, Blaise —" Maya started.
"So you will?" He interrupted before she could finish and his somewhat hopeful expression made her rethink her question. Something was a little off about his behavior, as from what Draco had told her about him, he was pretty indifferent towards just about everyone. She had learned a little more about him back during her and Lewis's argument when she spent the majority of her time with the Slytherins. Lewis told her she needed to move on from Draco. Quidditch wasn't the answer and trying to start reading the entire library seemed a little obsessive. Maybe if she started over with Blaise and got to know him better, then she might be open to dating him or something like that.
Maya bit her lip, "Umm…yeah, sure. I'll be looking forward to it."
"Excellent. I'll see you then, of course, I'm always looking for a studying partner if ever you're available," Blaise said as he stood up. Maya nodded, considering that. He looked to Astoria and nodded again before he said goodbye and left the pub.
Astoria giggled. "It's kind of funny. Or cute. I don't know…" Maya rolled her eyes as Astoria continued her giggle fit for a good three minutes (she timed it) before the giggling ended and Astoria attempted to catch her breath.
"Are you done yet?" Maya asked with a blank expression. Astoria's cheeks were tinted purple and red, likely from laughing so hard. "It's just a friendly outing. Maybe I can convince him to be nicer to people if I get to know him and study with him." Maya told her, crossing her arms.
"Right," Astoria snorted. "Just like you tried with Draco? Also, we all know what went down during your and Draco's study sessions. Wonder if Blaise is the same way." She tilted her head towards the door, a teasing smirk playing on her lips.
Maya rolled her eyes, frowning, "For the record, that happened one time and we barely kissed. And you wouldn't know about it if Madam Pince hadn't caught us and berated us for 'endangering books with saliva' or some ridiculous thing like that. It was a single kiss, harmless enough. You'd have thought we were playing with fire near them or something."
"Whatever you say." Astoria smirked.
"You look fine, Maya…" Carol rasped from her bed in the Hospital Wing. A pile of crumpled tissues laid on the bedside table, spilling over onto the floor. The flu was going away slowly, as Carol originally was unable to talk without breaking into a coughing or sneezing fit. Maya had stopped by to visit her to get an opinion on what she had decided to wear to on her date with Blaise. "Of course, it's pretty much just what you normally wear outside of classes."
Maya dropped her hands and frowned. Jeans, grandfather's old jacket, Ravenclaw scarf. Carol was right. Of course, she wasn't really going for dressing up. It was cold outside and she was trying not to seem desperate to have a boyfriend. Not that she was sure that she and Blaise would actually get along. She was actually pretty suspicious of his sudden change of heart towards her. "That's fine. It's what I was going for. Normal, right? Seems…okay, right?"
Carol yawned and leaned back. "Sure, whatever you say." She glanced at the clock and then told Maya, "You'd better go. I'm sure that the others will be setting off soon." There was a fit of coughing and Maya gave her a sympathetic look.
"Are you sure you don't want me to stay and keep you company?" Maya asked her and Carol shook her head. "Okay, if you're sure." Starting to the door, she paused and turned back around. "I almost forgot: Lewis is coming by with some of your books to help you for when classes start back. Apparently, most of the professors insisted that you get some homework done now that you're feeling better. I heard Professor Sprout argue that you needed to recover more, but they came to an agreement eventually." Carol smiled weakly and rolled her eyes a little. Maya chuckled, "I'll come by when I get back. Bye, Carol!"
She heard her friend say goodbye just before she closed the doors behind her on her way out. Maya had let Aspen roam outside that day, and she caught a glimpse of her bothering a bird as she passed through the courthouse. The bird was squawking angrily at Aspen, but the marten persisted and batted at it. Maya let them be. Aspen had never tried to hurt a bird before, and she'd done the same movements with owls when she would try to play.
The other students (third years and above) were already well on their way down to Hogsmeade, and as Maya made her way out of the courtyard, she could see the end of the line, where the exited third years were being ushered along by Professor McGonagall. Maya clutched her satchel close to her side and sprinted towards the line, catching up with them within a few minutes.
McGonagall looked startled when Maya greeted her through her panting. "Miss Kensington! There you are!" she huffed and put a hand on her shoulder to usher her forward. "I'd like to know next time you're going to be late! With students getting cursed, you can't be too careful."
"I was only visiting Carol in the Hospital Wing…" Maya explained quietly, a little embarrassed. She looked up in surprise as she registered what McGonagall had said. "Wait, someone was cursed? Why didn't I hear about it?" Maya saw a couple of Gryffindor third years glare back at her, a little annoyed and a little sad. McGonagall shook her head and shoved Maya forward into the crowd of students so the professor could see her and she wasn't walking beside or behind her.
Someone grabbed her by the arm suddenly and Maya turned to see Astoria. "There you are," she said, walking between Maya and Charles. Charles waved a hello and Maya nodded in return. "Blaise was asking about you. So was Draco, but only because he wanted Blaise to shut up, I think. I told them that you were on your way, that you stopped by to visit your friend. McGonagall was a bit worried when she did a headcount."
"Okay, yeah, sorry…" Maya said and scanned the crowd for the two that Astoria had mentioned. She hadn't seen much of Draco and she figured that Blaise should know that she was there. "Umm, question…" She looked over at Astoria who was listening intently. "Did you know anything about students getting cursed? McGonagall mentioned it and it's the first I'd heard about it."
Astoria bit her lip, so Charles answered for her. "The Gryffindor chaser, Katie Bell, touched a cursed necklace and had to be sent to St. Mungo's Hospital for recovery. We haven't heard how she was doing." Maya was surprised she hadn't heard of this. Charles continued, "I heard that Potter and his friends found her with her best friend after it happened. Potter tried to claim that Malfoy did it, for some reason."
Maya clenched her fist. "Of course he did…" she muttered out loud, now searching the crowd for a new target. Potter had no right, considering he hadn't seen how Bell got it in her possession, therefore he was making baseless accusations. "The professors didn't buy that, did they?"
"No!" Astoria gasped. "They most certainly did not! No one in their right mind would." Charles rolled his eyes an snorted and Maya wasn't so sure that Charles believed Draco's innocence like Astoria, Maya, and the professors did. "Oh, Charles, stop it," Astoria said to him exasperatedly, elbowing him. He grunted and rubbed his shoulder, scowling.
"Well, I'm putting Draco out of my mind today," Maya declared, crossing her arms. "Blaise was...nice enough to ask me out, so I owe it to him and myself to move on, right?" Astoria and Charles exchanged looks but neither said a thing to her. She adjusted her scarf as they continued on their way to the village. Astoria and Charles said goodbye before racing off to Honeyduke's, leaving Maya on her own.
As the students dispersed throughout the village, Maya paused and took a good look around. The year was progressing quickly, and Maya hadn't even taken time to appreciate the beauty of the school or Hogsmeade village in the fall. No snow had fallen yet, but the stone streets and lovely houses still looked charming. They were quaint, welcoming, pleasing to look at. Maya found herself wondering how someone could go about moving to Hogsmeade. Surely it wouldn't be too hard, although a little overrun with children during the school year.
Maya checked her satchel for her book she brought as a just in case, made sure she had her money, she saw that Aspen's lead was in there as well, and her wand was tucked safely in an inside pocket. Closing it up and satisfied nothing could fall out, she set off down the streets, unsure where Blaise was. She realized then how poorly planned out it all was. "Well, that was smart," she said to herself, shoving her hands into her jacket pockets. "You agree to go out with someone and don't even ask him where it's going to be, or where you should meet him, or —"
Her rambling was interrupted by a hand on her shoulder spinning her around. She looked up to see the dark features of Blaise, an eyebrow raised. "Been looking for you, Kensington," he said, bringing his hand off her shoulder. "Do you make it a habit of talking to yourself?"
The question caught Maya off guard. She chuckled awkwardly and began to tap her finger against her satchel, playing with the button on it. "Well — sometimes — umm, I mean...yeah?" Maya wasn't sure what else she could say. It was the truth. "It helps me think?"
"Ridiculous," Blaise scoffed. Maya's heart sank. Draco mentioned once that he found it endearing. However, Maya had to remember that Blaise was a completely different person. One she could already tell she didn't like that much as a boyfriend. "Malfoy didn't tell me you were so...weird…quiet? — yes — weird? — no." Maya resisted the urge to scowl at him like he was at her. She refused to do it. Then they might look like a couple, like Draco and Pansy.
"Thanks for the compliment," Maya smirked, trying to act nonchalant about it. Being called weird wasn't too much of a problem, since her house had the reputation of having some eccentric members and it was — quite possibly — considered a compliment, but what was the problem was the way he had said it. It wasn't teasing, it wasn't joking, just a bit rude. "I can tell we've really hit it off, now, haven't we?"
Blaise narrowed his eyes suspiciously, as if he couldn't tell if she was being sarcastic or not. "Whatever you say," he frowned. "I figured we'd go to Madam Puddifoot's for lunch. Not my favorite place — far too frilly — but it's a common place for dates. Is that alright with you?" Maya nodded hesitantly. She'd been inside the shop once during her first Hogsmeade visit when she was thirteen and exploring the village for the first time and she kind of wanted to stay out of it.
But Maya wanted the day to go smoothly, so she said nothing and followed him to the shop. Once inside, she could see that it was as cramped and pastel as it ever was. Light pink and baby blue ribbons and frills. Humid from the large amounts of water being boiled for tea and coffee. It was also quite warm and smelled like a muggle bakery, not that she would share that thought with anyone, least of all Blaise.
Madam Puddifoot, the owner and shop's namesake, was a stout woman with sleek black hair that she always had pulled into a bun. Maya found herself wondering why she chose to put round tables so close together, because the woman had a little difficulty squeezing between tables with her trays of coffee, tea, and cakes. She passed them down to tables and then hurriedly went behind her counter to fetch more, glancing at the bit of parchment she was taking orders on.
Blaise and Maya took a table by the window, which Maya thought made the shop seem a little less cramped. When Madam Puddifoot came to take their orders, Blaise ordered a slice of chocolate cake and a cup of coffee with sugar. Maya passed on cake and ordered a cup of coffee, black, no sugar, no cream. She didn't really want much else. After a short while, Madam Puddifoot returned to their table with their drinks and Blaise's cake and then she told them to enjoy and went about the shop checking on the other teenagers.
Maya didn't talk a whole lot, mainly listening to Blaise. She answered any questions he had in short answers, usually in one words, but he seemed a little uncomfortable and out of place. "You've hardly said anything and we've been here for about twenty minutes," Blaise said, moving his cake around on its plate with his fork. "Maybe some more interesting questions. Umm...how're things in the muggle world?"
She shrugged, "Alright, I suppose. No magic, so, kind of boring?"
"You're from here in Scotland, right?" Blaise asked her and Maya nodded a little. "Where?"
"Portree," Maya replied, taking a sip of her drink. "My mom works and lives in London and I spend time in Portree with my grandparents, working on their farm."
Blaise tried to look interested, "So...life on a muggle farm...interesting?"
Another shrug. "I guess, so. Sheep, horses, cows...really interesting..."
Blaise snorted a little, as if he was holding back laughter. Maya glanced up at him, curious. "Forgive me, you're just so different from Daphne...she loves to talk, you on the other hand seem to make it your goal to talk as little as possible"
"I talk when I have something to say," Maya answered, leaning back in her seat. "Simple as that. If there's something I feel needs to be said or something I want to say, then I'll let you know. Otherwise, no offence, you shouldn't expect much." He nodded slowly, but Maya wondered just what he was thinking.
Maya wasn't too sure about whether their was much to pursue with him, or even if it would be worth it. Draco had been hard to read and understand at times, but not like this. Both of them managed to meet in the middle and open up, save for recent years, but here both Blaise and Maya were far too guarded and suspicious of each other. They didn't trust. And that would make it a little difficult to date.
It took her two years to get Draco to be tolerable to be around, then another year after that before she actually realized she loved him. At the same time, Blaise was trying his best to be nice to her. The least she could do was humor him for the time being. She didn't want to hurt his feelings. Soon enough, the end to the date came and Maya was eager to leave, though she tried not to let him see this.
"I'll see you around," Maya said to him, pulling her coat back on and re-wrapping her scarf. Since all she had was a coffee, she paid fot herself. Blaise didn't protest to this. "It was a nice date, Blaise. Maybe we can study sometime this week?"
"That would be nice. Maybe Monday and Friday after classes?" Blaise suggested and Maya nodded. As Blaise paid for his coffee and cake, Maya hurried out into the streets of Hogsmeade so she wouldn't be forced to walk with him some more. She went off to the bookshop for the rest of the afternoon until it was time to return to Hogwarts.
On Monday after her study session with Blaise, Maya was on her way to the Great Hall for dinner. She heard footsteps hurry down a corridor she was about to pass and voices as well, but didn't think much of it. Until she recognized the voices as Astoria and Draco. She froze. They weren't heading her way. It sounded as if one of them — likely Astoria — had ran after the other.
"Malfoy, hold up!" Astoria said, then the footsteps ceased. "I have to talk to you about something."
Draco sighed. You could hear the annoyance in his voice when he spoke. "I'm busy, Greengrass. What do you want?"
Maya kept her back pressed to the wall and listened, not peeking around the corner to watch. They'd probably see her if she did. Astoria sounded more confident than she normally did whenever she talked with Draco, Maya could tell. "Daphne told me all about your little scheme," she said to him. Her tone was almost...aggressive, which was unusual for the normally gentle and laid back girl. "You're trying to keep Maya out of your way, aren't you?"
There was a long pause and what sounded like someone tapping their foot slowly. Draco eventually replied after a good while, "It's for her own good. I'd suggest you stay out of it. It's none of your business."
"Actually, all things considered, it is my business," Astoria snapped at him. Maya was surprised to hear the venom in her voice. "It isn't fair to anybody. Not to Pansy, not to Blaise, not to Daphne, and most certainly not to Maya." Maya heard Draco take a sharp breath at Astoria's mention of her. "People aren't your personal tools, Malfoy. You can't just use them whenever you see fit. How do you think anyone in this situation feels?"
"The only one even slightly upset about it seems to be Pansy," Draco tried to act nonchalant. "I talked to everyone about it beforehand."
"Except for Maya," Astoria pointed out. "You didn't consult her, now did you?"
Draco scoffed at her. "That's the point, genius. If she knows then it ruins the entire point." He took a moment to speak up as Astoria said nothing, likely taken aback by what he'd said to her. "Look, Greengrass. Your family isn't going through what mine is, alright? Somehow they were lucky enough to avoid it, which means you and your sister got off pretty easy. You don't have anybody you need to protect — family, yourself, your best friend. I'm doing this for the good of everyone, trust me."
"No, you're not," Astoria said to him, a little exasperated. "Your doing this to save yourself. Maybe your family as well. But it's most definitely not the good for everyone. Look, Draco, Maya is worried about you. Pretty much everyone is, to be honest." Astoria sighed. "Why can't you just let someone in to help you, at least emotionally, that way nobody gets used or hurt. Haven't you looked in a mirror recently?"
"I didn't ask for your opinion, Greengrass," Draco snapped. "Now why don't you keep your mouth shut and mind your own bloody business. Keep in mind that the only reason you know is because you don't pay attention to curfew." He sighed. "I don't want Kensington involved in this. If she finds out what happened, then she'll try and fix it and there are some problems that nobody can solve. If she gets wrapped up in this business then it'll make her a target."
Astoria went quiet. Then she told him, "Fine. You want to suffer Malfoy? You want someone you claim to care about to be kept in the dark? That's your business, but leave Pansy, Daphne, and Blaise out of it. Pansy's been drooling over you for years, she doesn't deserve an act like the one you two are playing. And Daphne loves Blaise and she's forced to ignore this just so you can —"
"Shut it, Greengrass," Draco snarled, talking over her. Maya couldn't hear what she had said.
"Whatever," Astoria snapped. "But I'm not keeping her in the dark forever. And Daphne feels the same way. If you don't figure something else out soon, then one of us may just let it slip to her one day." She spun around, her shoes making a sharp noise on the ground as she marched off. Maya ran off, ducking behind a suit of armor as Astoria headed down towards the Great Hall.
Maya didn't know exactly what she had just heard, but Draco was using just about everyone. Blaise, Pansy, maybe Daphne, possibly even Astoria. All to keep Maya out of whatever was going on with him. And Maya wasn't going to let that happen. Something else was going on with Draco that she still needed to figure out, but now Maya knew why Blaise asked her out. Why he suggested the studying. Neither one enjoyed the others company.
"Two can play at whatever game you've got going on, Draco," Maya said to herself as she walked down to dinner once she was sure that Draco and Astoria were gone. "Seems that you forgot a couple very basic things. I'm persistent, curious, and care about you. I'm not going to let you get rid of me that easily and I will figure it out. One way or another."
Maya searched for two people out in the courtyard. Two sisters, Astoria and Daphne Greengrass. She wanted to know what they knew about Draco's ridiculous plan with Blaise and Pansy. They knew something, and neither one of them seemed happy about it. She didn't expect it to be easy, since most of the time Slytherins looked out for one another, but the way Astoria was talking made it seem as though they were becoming fed up by it.
She scanned the courtyard and caught sight of the pair talking. They looked similar in appearance with slight differences. Astoria's eyes were dark brown and Daphne's were bright blue, and Astoria's hair matched her eyes whereas Daphne's was a light, chestnut brown. Astoria also had a more oval face shape than her older sister did. But you could definitely tell that they were related, with similar mannerisms and being more calm and muggle-born accepting than the other purebloods, were.
Astoria saw Maya from across the courtyard and frowned, turning to Daphne and saying something. Daphne looked up and a matching frown formed when she saw Maya and she quickly returned to the book she was holding. Maya approached them, putting on a friendly smile. "Hello, Astoria. Daphne. I've been looking everywhere for you two. I want to talk."
"About what?" Astoria asked, visibly confused. Daphne didn't look up, but she stayed on the same page of her book which meant she was at least listening at the very least. Better than giving her the cold shoulder.
"I heard you talking with Draco last night, before dinner," Maya said to Astoria. Astoria immediatly tensed, something Daphne had already done before Maya came over. "Which means I know that he's using Blaise and Pansy, as well as you two, in order to keep me out of the way for whatever he's doing. I don't expect Astoria to tell me what's going on fully, but I wanted to set something straight with Daphne."
She looked up when she heard her name. "What are you talking about, Kensington? Blaise broke up with me and Pansy is going out with Malfoy. Blaise has a genuine interest in you, not me." It sounded fake, as if she hadn't rehearsed it very often. Astoria placed a hand on Daphne's wrist and they made eye contact. Astoria shook her head and Daphne looked down, then back at Maya. "Alright, fine. Malfoy came to us and mentioned that you were...well, he said stalking him, or something like that."
Astoria continued for her sister. "Malfoy went to Blaise and Daphne and asked if Blaise could distract you so you'd leave him alone. Which meant Blaise and Daphne need to act like exes. I can't speak for Pansy about Malfoy or vice versa, but Blaise doesn't actually like you, definitely not in a romantic way. He went to Theodore Nott, even his two cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, first, but none of them agreed. Malfoy offered to pay Blaise and Daphne a little bit as a bribe."
"I wasn't too on board with it," Daphne interjected. "I'm going to find some sort of revenge for Malfoy. I don't appreciate being used as a tool."
"Actually, that's why I came to talk to you," Maya said. "I want to get back at him, too, but I want to check with you first, since it involves Blaise. He won't know, but this way we can all eventually — hopefully — be honest with one another. Me with Blaise, Blaise with me, Daphne and Blaise with everyone who now thinks Blaise and I are a thing. Kind of gross, really."
Daphne perked up. "You don't like Blaise?" Maya shook her head and Daphne grinned. Astoria looked happy for her sister, but concern appeared to be there as well. "Can't speak for Astoria, but I'm on board. What's the plan?"
Maya sat down beside them, both listening intently.