A few days later, Marisa found herself in the park, lying for all she was worth to her former clique of followers. She'd barely spoken to any of them since starting Hogwarts, and had almost forgotten them, but they still wanted to spend time with her.

They'd been told that Hogwarts was an "elite and highly selective boarding school up north". This had evoked quite some jealousy, and she was sure if she'd been anyone other than Marisa she'd be in serious trouble by now. But her reputation kept her safe.

"What are the boys like at your school?" asked Lucy. "Are they cute?"

Marisa didn't have to fake her blush. "Some of them," she replied. "Others not so much. Like Vincent and Gregory… they're just all muscle, no brain. Most of the others are all right, though."

"Have you got a boyfriend?" asked Sarah.

Marisa blushed and nodded.

"What's his name? What's he like? Have you kissed him? Is he cute?"

"Leo, nerdy but ruthless, yes and yes," Marisa rattled off. "He also refuses to be afraid of me."

"I'm surprised you haven't killed him yet," joked Lucy.

"Where would I be without an enemy somewhat close to being my equal?" Marisa asked, grinning. "I keep him alive to avert my own boredom."

"Of course you do," Sarah muttered. "That is so typical of you."

"I have a reputation to uphold, don't I?" she asked wryly. "Anyway. Either of you two got boyfriends yet?"

Both shook their heads.

"Yeah, I guess Leo and I were a bit early. But I figured if we liked each other then we might as well say so. A few of my friends have crushes, but none of them have done anything yet. I'm wondering whether I should come up with some matchmaking scheme just for fun next year. Might be fun to try and get them all paired off."

"I could definitely see you as a matchmaker," Lucy agreed. "In fact, do you think you could help me out?"

"If it saves me from dying of boredom, sure. But you'll owe me. What's the situation?"

Lucy grinned. "So the boy is Jack West. He's one of the most popular kids in school and he already has a girlfriend who's way richer and more popular than me, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't know I exist."

"Sounds like a challenge," said Marisa. "I reckon I can come up with something, though. Tell me more about this Jack and his girlfriend. I need to know everything."

She grinned. This would, indeed, be fun.