'And that, students, is what we call a Spiky Prickly Plant. We'll start working with those next week' Professor Sprout said at the end of the lesson, pointing at a green bush with yellow spikes. 'My father calls those Spiky Bushes' Draco called through the greenhouse without raising his hand. 'But Draco, who's the teacher here, your father or me?' Professor Sprout asked, failing to completely hide her annoyance. 'You of course, silly' Draco said cheerfully. 'Right, so who do you listen to, your father or me?' Draco pretended to think for a second and then promptly said: 'My father.' Professor Sprout sighed, the Slytherins sniggered and then the bell rang. They all hastily left, before the professor could dock some points. 'Good one, Draco' Millicent said. 'Thank you, it was nothing' Draco said with a theatrical bow. It was their last lesson for the day, and Draco and Maya had planned to go to the library. They said goodbye to Millicent, Vincent and Gregory and climbed the stairs to the first floor. Maya had been teaching Draco some of the curses she had learned and practised in the remote classroom and he was dying to try some of them out. Maya however refused to duel him again and no real opportunity had presented itself. There were not many students in the library, and suddenly Maya spotted Gryffindor fellow first year Neville Longbottom sitting at a table by himself. She poked Draco and pointed at him. 'There's your opportunity. Why don't I get him behind this shelf so nobody can see us and then you use the Leg-Locker Curse on him?' Maya asked with a nasty grin. 'I like your thinking, miss Dursley,' Draco said, grinning as well, 'but how are you going to get that oaf to follow you?' 'Leave it to me, I know just how to manipulate stupid boys' she said. While Draco hid behind the shelf, she walked over to Neville. 'Hi, Neville! Longshorts, was it?' she greeted him amicably. Neville looked up in surprise. 'It's Longbottom' he muttered. 'Oh, yes, of course, my bad. Has your arm fully healed? We felt really bad about it, you know' Maya said sweetly, even stroking his back with her hand. He went red and she knew it was working. 'Yes, Madam Pomfrey healed it in a jiffy' he mumbled uncomfortably; he really did not understand why this very pretty Slytherin girl was so interested in him. 'Good, good. Working on your Potions essay, I see? I finished mine yesterday' Maya continued, still smiling at him. 'Really? Maybe you can help me out, I'm not really good at Potions' Neville said shyly. You don't say Maya thought; after all she had that class with him and knew all too well about his failures. 'Sure!' she said and she sat down next to him. She quickly read what little he had written down and suddenly pitied Professor Snape for having to read essays like that one. 'All right, that's a decent start,' she forced herself to say, 'but why don't I show you which book I used? It's such a good book you can basically copy from it.' She got up and Neville slowly did too. She gently patted him on the shoulder to encourage him. 'Come, what I'll show you, you won't forget' she said. She led Neville to the shelf behind which Draco was hiding with his wand at the ready. At the last moment, she let Neville pass so that she could block the view. Barely had Neville turned the corner or she heard: 'Locomotor Mortis!' and a yelp. Neville's legs stuck together instantly and he fell over, landing on his back. Maya and Draco burst into laughter and high fived each other. 'That was awesome!' Draco said jubilantly. 'That rush's addicting, isn't it?' Maya said with a wide smile. 'You tricked me!' Neville squeaked from below with hurt in his voice. He was trying to get up, but failed. 'Yupsolutely,' Maya said, 'but that doesn't mean I lied, I told you I'd show you something you wouldn't forget and I'm quite sure you won't.' Draco sniggered at her words and the two of them then quickly left the crime scene, leaving Neville to fend for himself.
They might not have done the studying they had intended to do, but there was always tomorrow. Besides, the laughter of their friends when they told them what they had done was worth so much more. That evening, shortly before curfew, Maya went back to the library to return a book. She spotted Harry and his two friends, but did not stop to say hello. When she had handed the book to the grumpy librarian, she began walking towards the exit, but then she heard her cousin's voice. 'Maya, wait up!' She obliged and turned around to see three rather angry faces. 'Trouble in paradise?' she asked smugly. 'What did you curse Neville for?' Harry asked. 'He was very upset, you know' Hermione joined in. 'Oh, I bet he was. I guess not all Gryffindorks are brave and tough, even when it comes to simple pranks. Anyway, it was Draco who cursed him, you should share your undoubtedly very interesting thoughts on the matter with him rather than me' Maya said, and she turned around. Harry however quickly grabbed her arm and she annoyedly turned around again. 'What?' she asked. 'I think your friends have a bad influence on you, Maya. This was never you' Harry said. 'Bit hypocritical when I see with whom you associate,' Maya said, looking at Ron and Hermione, 'but don't worry about a bad influence, Harry, the curse was my own idea.' And with that she walked off.
Harry and Maya did not speak to each other for about two weeks after that, but then it was Christmas time. The grounds were covered in snow and the castle looked magnificently in the midst of this winter wonderland. Harry and Maya had both decided to stay at Hogwarts. Harry's reasons were obvious enough, but Maya just the same felt more at home at the castle than on Privet Drive. Her mother would be very sad, but she did not really care. This Christmas at Hogwarts with her friends, or her new family rather, would probably become the best one ever. At least, that was what she thought, until Draco informed her that his plans had changed and that he would actually go home for the holidays. 'It's all right, Draco, I understand,' Maya said, and she did, 'just have fun, okay? Millicent and I will run the business here.' The two girls accompanied him, Vincent and Gregory to the train and waved until the train disappeared out of sight. 'Things will be quiet around our common room without them' Millicent said as they climbed the hill to the castle. 'Depends. Is Pansy staying?' Maya asked. 'I'm quite sure she's gone too' Millicent said. 'Good, I think I'd rather hang with the Hufflepunks or the Ravenclowns than with her' Maya said, and the girls enjoyed themselves for a bit talking about just how awful of a person Pansy was. Almost had they reached the front door, when suddenly Maya got hit on the cheek with something cold. She gasped and turned around. She realised that she had been hit by a snowball, and sure enough she spotted Harry, Ron and the Weasley twins, who were apparently in the midst of a snowball fight. 'That one's for Neville, Dursley!' Ron called. 'Oh, you're on, Weasley!' Maya shouted back, immediately reaching down to grab some snow. She quickly formed a ball and threw it as hard as she could towards him, but he dodged it easily. The twins started cheering and Maya took aim again. Two fifth year Slytherins and Millicent joined in, and a few minutes later it was an all-out war between the two houses, with more people joining in constantly. One of Maya's snowballs hit Harry right in the face and his glasses fell to the ground, but she was sportingly enough not to throw at him again while he was looking for them. The fight lasted about an hour after which most people had had enough. The Gryffindors and the Slytherins went back into the castle and there was actually a pretty good vibe since everyone had had a lot of fun, amplified by the idea of having defended their house colours.
The following days Maya and Millicent enjoyed the rather empty common room, where they now always had the comfortable armchairs by the fire. Maya still read a lot (about the actual use of magic, she was not very interested in the theoretical part), and she constantly saw Harry and Ron in the library. They appeared to be looking for something. Eventually curiosity got the better of her and she walked up towards them. 'What are you looking for?' she asked, not even saying hello. 'That's none of your business, snake' Ron snapped. Harry gave him a disapproving look, but Maya was unfazed. 'Why thanks Weasley, the snake's one of the most majestic creatures alive' she said calmly. 'Whatever…' Ron muttered, taken aback by her response, but Harry looked at him. 'Do you think we should ask her? She reads a lot' he asked his friend. Ron shrugged and Harry went ahead. 'Maya, do you know Nicolas Flamel?' he asked in a hushed voice, even though they were the only students in the library. 'No, but I know how to make your toenails grow incredibly fast' Maya said pleasantly. 'Er, I'll keep that in mind, thanks' Harry said uncomfortably. 'So, who's that Flamel bloke? Oh, wait, that's what you're trying to find out. Why are you trying to find him?' Maya asked. 'Sorry, Maya, we can't exactly say' Harry said apologetically. 'But if you won't say, then how am I supposed to help?' she asked sweetly and as if that was the most obvious thing in the world. 'You want to help us?' Ron asked incredulously. 'Certainly, I love solving mysteries. Besides, can't a girl have some quality time with her cousin?' Maya said kindly. 'All right' Harry said and he shared with her what little they knew, but left out some important details, such as that her head of house was trying to steal the thing being guarded. He made it seem like they wanted to find out what was hidden in the castle just for fun, and she bought it. The next few hours she helped the boys in their search for Flamel, but to no avail. They walked to the Great Hall for dinner, wondering why his name had not come up so far, and then split ways towards their tables.
On Christmas morning, Maya awoke to find a small pile of presents in the middle of her room. Draco had given her a golden necklace, even though he knew that she was not able to give him anything. 'Just teach me some more curses and we're even' he had told her. Her mother had given her some clothes, and she was surprised to see that Hagrid had sent her what looked like homemade fudge.
Christmas dinner was amazing. The Hall looked spectacular with twelve enormous Christmas trees, all fully decorated. Mistletoe hung all around the walls and there was only one big table. 'At Christmas time, we set our differences aside. Also, there's simply not a lot of students' Dumbledore explained happily. Harry made an inviting gesture towards Maya, and she and Millicent sat down with him and the Weasleys. 'Merry Christmas, Maya' Harry said. 'Merry Christmas, Harry' she responded in turn. She then also exchanged the pleasantry with the Weasleys. 'Nothing like Muggle Christmas, huh?' she asked her cousin. 'Definitely not' he said, smiling. Christmas dinner featured about a hundred fat, roast turkeys and almost every type of food under the sun. They all ate and chatted happily; all mutual annoyances had gone for the holidays. Fred showed Maya how to pull a wizard cracker, which went off with a blast. The crackers contained fun stuff, such as special types of candy and even hats. That night Maya went to bed feeling truly happy, only wishing that Draco had been there. Still, thanks to Hogwarts this had been without a shadow of a doubt the most special Christmas she had ever had.