"What's Cairo like?" Lavender Brown asked.
"Hot," Maddie lied like a pro. She had gotten much better at it in the week she had been here. "And humid. The mosquitoes are absolutely horrid in the summer."
"Ugh," Parvati Patil said, scrunching up her nose.
"I went there about four years ago," Ron said. "My brother works there. What do you know about the pyramids?"
"A lot," Maddie said. She actually did. She would go to one of her parent's friends who lived there when she ran away from home.
"That's so neat!" Ginny exclaimed.
"Do you have any sisters, Maddie? You look kind of familiar," Harry asked.
"I have an older sister and a little brother," she grinned. It was probably the first true thing she had said all week.
"Well, guys, it's off to bed for me!" Maddie exclaimed. "I'm exhausted, with all the homework Snape's been giving us. Good god, what is his problem?" The kids just shrugged and chuckled. Maddie left and walked up the stairs to her dorm. She laid down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. Sleep quickly crept over her, leaving her in her own dreamworld.
She dreamed of a memory. She was in Diagon Ally, buying her wand and Hogwarts robes. She was an exhilarated eleven year old who was practically bouncing all over the stores. She remember her mother pulling her over to the side, chastising her a bit for making a scene about not getting her a racing broom like Gwyneth had. Gwyneth was starting her fourth year that year and was quite a pro about, well, everything. She had top grades, Quidditch player, respected by everyone. At that point in Maddie's life, Gwyneth had been her hero.
Maddie awoke. She turned on her side, continuing the memory in her head. When she arrived at Hogwarts, she felt the disappointment of her teachers. They had been expecting another Gwyneth, and after a month they found out that Maddie was just another kid, not quite the best in anything. It was then that Maddie hated Gwyneth. Hate might be too strong of a word, but she resented her. Maddie was a disappointment. The word rang in her ears. Disappointment. Disappointment. DISAPPOINTMENT!
That's when she started rebelling. She would talk back to teachers, start fights with her parents at the drop of a hat. She knew she put her parents through hell, but she didn't care. It got really bad when she was in her fourth year and Gwyneth was head girl. She would run away at least once every two weeks. Her grades slipped, and if it had not been for her friend Grayson, she probably would have failed.
Gray was an angel. He was always there for her and always cared about her. She loved him more than anything. She didn't think he liked her in the same way she did, but as long as she was close to him she was all right. He helped her shape up a bit after she received quite a blow the summer after her fourth year.
Maddie sat up in her bed. The darkness was blinding, yet she did nothing to turn the light on. Darkness was her constant, the only thing she could count on. She was scared. She had never been scared before, even when she ran away from home, when she was in the hospital. But now she was petrified. I had to save them, she thought to herself. She absolutely had to. She pulled on her charm bracelet and then when to sleep again, hoping for less painful dreams.
***
"Emergency meeting for all seventh year prefects!" Hermione yelled loudly at the opening of the great room that morning during breakfast. "immediately!"
"Come on Hermione," Harry pleaded. "We have Quidditch practice now. Or else Slytherin is going to beat us and win the cup!"
"Is that all you care about? It's Quidditch, Quidditch, Quidditch!" Hermione said, angered. She narrowed her eyes and glowered.
"There just isn't enough time in the day," Harry sighed, exasperated.
Hermione smiled and looked at him. "Maybe we should take your head boy badge and give it to Malfoy. How about that?" she joked.
Harry grinned. "Well, if that happens, then we give yours to Pansy Parkinson. Deal?"
"Deal." Hermione agreed. Harry shook her hand, and then they left for the meeting. It was probably to discuss the upcoming graduation plans, Maddie thought. She stood up and then walked to her first class.
***
"Now we will partner up for our next lesson," Snape barked at that afternoon's class. "Potter with Parkinson, Granger with Patil, Weasley with Brown, Longbottom with Goyle, Finnigan with Crabbe, and…" he looked at Maddie with a evil twinkle in his eye, "McNestrelle with Malfoy."
Hermione cringed. "Poor girl. She's only been here a week," she whispered.
"Poor girl indeed," Harry agreed.
Maddie turned around to face Malfoy. His face mirrored her own disappointment and anxiety about working together.
"Let's go," he sighed. They quietly set up their cauldron and started chopping up ingredients. He looked at her. "Do I know you from somewhere?" he asked. "You look almost familiar." Maddie shook her head abruptly. He looked down at her cutting. "You need to make those smaller," he sneered.
"I hate potions," she muttered under her breath.
"I hate transfigurations," Malfoy admitted. "McGonagall is so biased. She only likes Granger."
"Well, Snape only likes you," she pointed out. Malfoy beamed with pride. "The only class I like is herbology."
"I like the classes that are not with Gryffindor," Malfoy said rudely, looking at her.
"Well, that's nice. For that, I like classes that are not with Slytherin."
"Fine by me."
"Fine."
He moved over to the cauldron to dump his ingredients in, but stepped on her foot by accident. "Ow!" she yelled.
"Sorry," he mumbled.
Maddie smiled and looked at him. "You know, you're not as awful as everyone says you are."
"How awful does everyone say I am?" he asked with a little concern. "Not that I care."
"They say that you're rude, inconsiderate, and just plain mean." Maddie looked at him. "I think you're none of those."
Malfoy snorted. "What do they know? Potter and dream team are incredibly stuck up and snobby."
"I don't think that's true either," she snapped.
"You wouldn't" he mumbled.
"What is that supposed to mean?" she asked, a angry fire flowing through her.
"Well, you're one of them," he said, cocking his head toward the Gryffindor side of the classroom.
"What's wrong with that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.
"You just…oh never mind. Just forget it."
"What if I don't want to forget it?" She said, forming fists with her hands.
"Look, McNestrelle…"
"Maddie."
"Huh?" he looked at her, confused.
"Call me Maddie."
"Ok," he said and looked at her. "Call me Draco then."
"All right." She looked in his eyes and was surprised at how much he reminded her of Gray at that moment.
***
"That was hilarious!" Ron said, laughing. "Malfoy turned his books into lizards in Transfigurations and had to spend the entire period chasing after them! That was so funny," he said with a grin.
"Poor McGonagall, she looked as if she were about to kill him," Hermione chuckled. She turned and looked at Harry, who was picking at his food and not even smiling. "What's wrong?" she asked.
"I'll tell you two later, ok?" he whispered to Hermione and Ron. They nodded in agreement.
***
The three sat in the common room in silence, waiting for everyone else to go to bed. Harry was seated by the fireplace with Hermione next to him; Ron sat in the chair facing them.
"Night Ron!" Ginny called out, the last one to leave for bed. When she had exited, Hermione and Ron turned and looked at Harry. He sighed and put his face in his hands.
"Harry, what is it?" Hermione asked impatiently.
He looked up at them. "There have been some rumors of Voldemort gaining power." Hermione's eyes widened. She knew what was coming. "Dumbledore says that, that, he… I…," he paused for a minute, then started with more composure. "I'm probably his target. Either for revenge or to get me to join him."
"Oh Harry," Hermione said and hugged him. A few tears ran down his face, then he wiped them away, embarrassed. Hermione looked down at her bracelet. If we ever need luck this is the time, she thought. Ron sat in his chair, white faced, clutching his legs.
"Well, what are we going to do?" Hermione asked.
"We?" Harry asked.
"Oh come off it. We're not going to desert you when you need us the most." Hermione said, narrowing her eyes.
"I can't ask this of you. You guys could get hurt, be killed,…"
"How could we live with the knowledge that we didn't help?" Ron asked. The three sat in silence, just looking at each other.
"Don't tell anyone," Harry suddenly began. "I mean…"
"We know," Hermione said. She put her arm around him, and he rested his head on her shoulder. Ron got out of his chair and kneeled by them, putting his hand on Harry's shoulder. The three of them sat like that for a very long time and cried silently; just being together as the 'dream team' they were.
From the stairs Maddie watched them with tears running down her cheeks. No one had to tell her what they were crying about. She already knew.
A/N: Who's Maddie?… I'll reveal it in the next part. Thank you for all your reviews on the last part, please review again!