'Remember Rita Skeeter?' Draco asked Maya in the Slytherin common room one evening. The Christmas holidays were almost over and most people, Maya and her friends included, busied themselves with doing the homework they had neglected due to the Yule Ball and Christmas itself.
Maya looked up from her Potions essay. 'Yeah, of course. She wrote that absolute gem of an article about Harry we've had so much fun with' she said.
'Exactly. Well, guess what, I sent her an owl saying how much us Slytherins had enjoyed her work and now she'd be more than delighted to get some inside information from us on juicy stuff that happens around here. Apparently she's doing a piece on that oaf Hagrid now and she'd like to include some of our opinions on his lessons, you know, to make the article even more damning' Draco said gleefully.
'I see. Well, have fun with that' Maya said, trying to focus on her difficult essay again. Leave it to Snape to set them a piece of homework this complicated for the holidays...
'You won't come along? We're meeting her near the Forbidden Forest tomorrow' Draco said, indicating Vincent and Gregory, who of course always did what he said.
'Nah, I'll pass. I'd rather not go on record as a fourteen-year-old. The statements I'd make tomorrow could come back to haunt me someday, like when I'm applying for a job' Maya said wisely. One of the things that set her apart from her peers was that she always preferred to think long-term and tended to carefully consider each step.
Draco had not been lying. When the first day of the new term arrived, so did Rita Skeeter's article about Hagrid. Draco gleefully handed it to Maya at breakfast. Dumbledore's Giant Mistake was the headline and the article was topped with a picture of Hagrid. 'Well, kudos for the pun' Maya said and then she began reading. The introduction featured Dumbledore and his controversial staff appointments, such as Moody. 'An alarmingly large and ferocious-looking man, Hagrid has been using his new-found authority as a teacher to terrify his innocent students with a succession of horrific creatures, some of which have severely injured several pupils... Oh, yeah, there's you and Vincent... Blast-Ended Skrewts... Ugh, tell me about it... Hagrid is not pure-human, his mother is a giantess and giants have been known to be bloodthirsty and brutal. Furthermore, they joined the ranks of He Who Must Not Be Named... Oh and obviously Harry is dragged in this too, yeah he probably shouldn't be friends with Hagrid anymore after hearing this. I always knew Hagrid was, well, thick but I never thought he could be potentially dangerous' Maya read and said. Draco and Vincent seemed thoroughly pleased with themselves.
History of Magic was boring as always, but at least it was inside. Nobody was looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures in this weather, but all too soon they had to make their way to Hagrid's cabin through the thick layer of snow. 'Oh well, at least we can taunt the Gryffindorks with that article' Draco said, an evil smirk on his face. Much to the Slytherins' pleasure, the Gryffindorks seemed rather surprised to see an elderly witch with grey hair and a very prominent chin standing before Hagrid's front door. All the curtains were closed.
'Hurry up, now, the bell rang five minutes ago!' she barked at them, as they made their way towards her through the snow.
'Who're you? Where's Hagrid?' Harry asked.
'My name is Professor Grubbly-Plank, I'll be your temporary Care of Magical Creatures teacher' she said briskly.
'Where's Hagrid?' Harry repeated.
'He's indisposed. Now, this way, please' Professor Grubbly-Plank said shortly, leading the way past the Beauxbatons carriage and towards a tree on the edge of the Forest, where a large and beautiful unicorn was tethered. Many of the girls, Maya included, gasped in delight. Now this was why she had decided to take Care of Magical Creatures, to deal with genuinely beautiful creatures instead of dangerous monstrosities like the Skrewts. The unicorn was so brightly white that it made the snow all around look grey. It was pawing the ground nervously with its golden hooves, which was no surprise to Maya; unicorns were notoriously skittish, and for good reason. She inadvertently thought of the time she had found a dead unicorn deep in the Forbidden Forest and was happy to now see one in good health. 'Boys keep back! Unicorns prefer the woman's touch. Girls to the front and approach with care! Come on, easy does it' Professor Grubbly-Plank barked.
'Well, cya' Maya said cheerfully, leaving her friends behind. As Maya waited her turn to touch the unicorn, she turned around to look at them. Much to her satisfaction, Draco handed Rita Skeeter's article to Harry. Maya was so busy watching the Gryffindorks' reaction that she did not even notice that it was her turn to stroke the unicorn.
'Come on, now, you' Professor Grubbly-Plank said impatiently, as if she was offended that even the likes of a unicorn seemingly could not hold Maya's interest.
'Right, sorry professor' Maya said quickly. The unicorn was incredibly soft and had already become somewhat less nervous to be in their presence. As Maya gently stroked the creature, Professor Grubbly-Plank began to enumerate its many magical properties. When the lesson had ended and they were all heading back to the castle for lunch, Maya was very glad to hear that most students shared her enthusiasm about the temporary teacher, who was obviously much better at the job than Hagrid.
Speaking of Hagrid, he did not show himself all week. He did not appear at the staff table at meal-times, he was not to be seen doing his gamekeeper duties in the grounds and Professor Grubbly-Plank continued to take the Care of Magical Creatures classes. Whenever Maya looked at Hagrid's cabin with all the curtains closed, she felt that the Rita Skeeter article had exposed not only his giant heritage, but also his rather child-like nature. Rather than confronting an issue and standing up for himself, he preferred to retreat into seclusion, to the extent that clearly even his friends and supporters were unable to convince him to show himself. Maya also figured that Hagrid symbolised just how powerful of an entity the media could be, and she could only hope that she would never fall victim to that.
The rest of January went by rather uneventfully. There was a Hogsmeade visit halfway through the month, but to Maya Hogsmeade was already becoming somewhat old. It was always the same shops and roughly the same purchases, and she only went for her friends. The fourth years practised the Banishing Charm and were rather disappointed to see Hagrid eventually resume his teaching activities, even if he did continue Professor Grubbly-Plank's lessons on unicorns, showing them two very cute unicorn foals. At least the fourth years, like the rest of the school, had the second task of the Triwizard Tournament to look forward to, which was to take place on the 24th of February. Just like with the first task, nobody knew what it would entail and thus speculations were running wild.
One evening in February Maya was doing homework in her room when suddenly she heard soft knocking on her door. She walked to the door and opened it... to find nobody there. She figured it was probably some first year messing around and made to close the door, but then she felt something brush past her. 'Maya, it's me!' a voice whispered. Maya closed the door and turned around to see Harry taking off his Invisibility Cloak. He looked around her room. 'Er, nice place you've got here' he said softly.
'You have some nerve coming here' Maya said quietly, inadvertently making sure her wand was in reach.
'I was hoping we could have a private talk, Maya. It's about us and the second task. I was hoping you could help me out' Harry said somewhat uncomfortably.
'Oh, I'd love to help you out! It's that way' Maya said pleasantly, pointing at the door.
'I'm serious, Maya.'
'That makes two of us, Harry.'
'Look, I know there's been a lot of animosity between us this year, and I want to fix it' Harry said bravely.
'Then maybe you shouldn't have entered the Triwizard Tournament and seek even more fame and glory!' Maya spat at him, her arms crossed.
'I didn't put my name in the Goblet of Fire!' Harry said hotly.
'Oh, please. That lie's getting old. You might as well just admit it, considering you were allowed to participate' Maya responded cynically.
'What do you even mean by 'even more fame and glory'? Do you honestly think I wanted to be famous for having dead parents and this scar on my forehead?' Harry said, maybe louder than he had intended to and Maya inadvertently made sure that the door was indeed tightly shut.
'You might have that clearly visible scar, but some people have scars one can't see' Maya said softly. 'You can't walk two streets without getting recognised and receiving all sorts of admiration. On top of that, you have a vault filled with gold while I'm on Hogwarts funding...'
'Stop right there!' Harry interrupted angrily, 'again, do you really think I wanted all that?'
'Doesn't matter to me. You have it, I want it. I'm sick and tired of living in your shadow. My mother once told me your mother got all of her parents' attention and now a similar process casually gets repeated with us' Maya said, clenching her fists.
'Don't give me any of that! As if you care about your mother, Maya. I mean, you never even go home for Christmas!' Harry said bluntly. Maya had no comeback for once and so Harry went on. 'Sad thing is, Maya, I was going to give you the money if I won, because I actually felt sorry for you. But now you're not getting a single Knut.'
'Sure you were, because we've always been so close, right?' Maya said sarcastically, but she did actually feel rather bad after what Harry had just said. Would he really have given her a thousand Galleons?
'Well, no, but I never held a grudge against you for how your family always treated me, or mistreated rather, and I very well could have' Harry said calmly.
'That wasn't my fault, and I've said before that I wouldn't have put you in that cupboard. I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. Like, seriously, where are you even going with this? What do you want from me? Do you feel like I owe you an apology for those first almost eleven years in my household?' Maya asked testily.
'Not really, I know you're incapable of saying sorry anyway' Harry said coolly.
'I'm not. I'm sorry you're such a twat!' Maya said brusquely.
Harry sighed. 'You know what, Maya? Maybe the fact that in the wizarding world I'm rich and you're poor is a form of cosmic justice, considering the first ten years of your life you always had everything and I had absolutely nothing. I mean, you were so extremely spoiled before your father left' he said.
'What a comparison! I got rather useless presents whereas money equals power,' Maya said sharply, 'and this statement isn't fair in the first place. I never bullied you, Harry, and my occasional moodiness was never anything personal against you. Should I have tried to help you out more? Maybe, but I doubt that would have done anything considering my father's personality and I'm just a self-centred person in general. Is that a bad character trait? Might very well be, but I find the vast majority of people simply too unreliable to count on. People are fickle beings, while my quest for power is a constant one. When it comes down to it, I can only really trust and rely on myself.'
'Well, good luck with your 'quest' then, I guess. Don't let me stand in your way. I also guess that this is it then?' Harry said, reaching for his Invisibility Cloak.
'I guess so, Harry James Potter. By the way, I don't think champions are supposed to ask for help, but then again, you've always had special privileges because of that scar' Maya said bitterly.
'Keep being the way you are, Maya, always hiding your feelings in anger so as to not show any sign of weakness. Eventually literally nobody will want to be around you, though, not even your bestie Draco Malfoy. I do hope you'll see the light someday, but you know what, I won't care if you don't. I've tried long enough. I'm done' Harry said in a resigned tone, putting on the cloak and disappearing out of sight.
'Draco has meant more to me than you ever did. The thing is, Harry, we can choose our friends, but we can't choose our family. If we could, I promise you I would never have chosen you. And good luck in that Tournament, I very much hope you'll need it. They say what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger. Well, what doesn't kill you in this Tournament you so desperately seek to win will disappoint me' Maya said through gritted teeth.
'Thanks for proving my point' Harry said bluntly. Next second, Maya's door opened and closed seemingly by itself, but Maya knew that her cousin had just walked out. Not just out of her room, but quite possibly out of her entire life. She did not care, though. Who needed him anyway? She had never enjoyed being famous Harry Potter's cousin one bit. Downright hated it was more to the point and as far as she was concerned he was the second family member she had lost.
The excitement that ran through the Great Hall on the morning of February the 24th was truly unparalleled. Quidditch games were fine and all, but those had nothing on the thrill that the Triwizard Tournament tasks brought about. To Maya it was rather anticlimactical to find that this time the stands had been erected along a bank of the Black Lake. The stands were packed to bursting point and as she and her friends found seats and sat down, they wondered what the champions would have to do. They were standing on the other side of the lake, next to the gold-draped judge table. Ludo Bagman spaced the champions along the bank at intervals of ten feet. Maya saw Harry was standing at the end of the line, right next to Krum. It looked like they were about to go underwater and Maya fervently hoped that both of them would drown. When Ludo Bagman told the crowd that the champions were to recover what had been taken from them and blew his whistle, Maya's suspicion proved to be correct. There was cheering and applause when the champions disappeared from view, Harry needing a little longer than the others, receiving catcalls and jeering from the Slytherins in the process. When the lake was devoid of any action, Maya turned to Draco.
'What exactly are we supposed to spectate now? Is it just me or does Hogwarts never seem to think things through?' Maya asked bluntly.
'They don't, and that's food for thought' Draco said.
Everyone basically just sat there for an hour talking amongst themselves and waiting for the champions to pop back up. After about twenty minutes it was Fleur Delacour who resurfaced first. She was alone and rather hysterical, and as she was frantically making her way back to the shore her Bubble-Head Charm broke. 'Ha, talk about having your bubble burst. Looks like our French friend isn't much of a rescuer' Maya said pleasantly, thoroughly enjoying the sight of Fleur freaking out and Madame Maxime trying her hardest to calm her down.
Nothing happened for the next forty minutes or so, apart from Fleur's crying and screaming, but then suddenly the crowd erupted in cheers: Cedric surfaced with Cho Chang firmly in his grasp. He too had evidently used the Bubble-Head Charm, as it took a few more seconds to wear off. Maya clapped along; at this point she had literally no one else to cheer for but Cedric. 'All right, at least that worked out' she said, somewhat struggling to make herself understood over the roars of the crowd strangely echoing across the water. Next to appear was Krum with Hermione. Krum had a human body, but the head of a shark. It was a rather monstruous sight, and Maya inadvertently wondered what she had ever seen in him besides his fame. Then finally (and in Maya's eyes, unfortunately) Harry resurfaced among a great deal of shouting and screaming. He was however not just bringing Ron with him, but also a small girl with silvery hair. Maya quickly surmised that the girl was Fleur's sister, and Fleur's renewed hysterical screaming quickly confirmed her theory. The Beauxbatons champion was fighting tooth and nail to return to the water after she had caught sight of Harry, Ron and her sister. As Fleur broke free and hugged the small girl tightly, Madam Pomfrey began fussing over the other champions and their hostages, wrapping them in thick blankets.
When all the kerfuffle was over, the judges went into a huddle. Overall, Maya was quite pleased with how the task had gone. Cedric won and it seemed like Harry got third place. It was not last place but close enough. She watched how Fleur kissed both Harry and Ron. 'Imagine being thick enough to think those hostages were actually in any real danger. Yup, that's some of the participants in this so very prestigious Tournament, that, by the way, isn't always that much of a spectacle to watch' Maya said, rolling her eyes. Draco chose not to respond, as per usual whenever Maya was whining.
'Ladies and gentlemen,' boomed out Ludo Bagman's magically magnified voice, causing the crowd in the stands to go very quiet, 'we have reached our decision! We heard from the merpeople what happened at the bottom of the lake, and we have therefore decided to award each champion a maximum of fifty points! First, Beauxbatons' Fleur Delacour, who demonstrated excellent mastery of the Bubble-Head Charm, but found herself attacked by Grindylows and subsequently incapable of retrieving her hostage. We award her 25 points!' There was polite applause from the stands, but not from Maya.
'What? She failed to rescue her hostage! If this was the real deal then her sister would have become fish food! Zero points is what she deserves and not a point more!' Maya said indignantly, vainly looking around for support, but people just shushed her. She really wondered why the grand Triwizard Tournament awarded participation points to failing champions, though. She had hitherto believed that the Tournament was supposed to be utterly unforgiving and only suited for the most talented of students.
'Next, Hogwarts' Cedric Diggory, who also used the Bubble-Head Charm to great effect, especially since he was first to return with his hostage. He was however one minute outside the time limit of an hour and we therefore award him 47 points!' There were enormous cheers from the Hufflepuffs and Maya did clap along this time. 'Durmstrang's Viktor Krum used an incomplete form of Transfiguration, which was nevertheless effective, and was second to return with his hostage. We award him 40 points!' Again loud cheering from the stands; Krum was still very popular. 'Finally, Hogwarts' Harry Potter used Gillyweed to great effect. He returned last, and well outside the time limit of an hour. However, the Mer-chieftainess informed us that Mr Potter was actually first to reach the hostages, and that the delay in his return was due to his determination to return all hostages to safety, not merely his own. Most of the judges feel that this shows moral fibre and merits a high score. We award Mr Potter 45 points!' The crowd cheered and clapped once more, but not Maya. As Bagman finished by informing them that the third and final task would take place on the 24th of June, one day after her birthday, Maya looked at Draco.
'Who do they think they're kidding?! Moral fibre my arse, this is just good old favouritism! It's all for the headlines because it makes for such a cool story if fourteen-year-old Harry Potter overcomes all the odds and ends up winning the entire thing!' she spat angrily. These days especially she took everything that was in Harry's favour personally. Draco whole-heartedly agreed with her, but even he eventually grew tired of her constant whining and flat-out told her to shut up, which did not exactly improve her mood and she ended up just retreating to her room to take a hot bath. Oh well she thought as she lay there enjoying the warm water, maybe Harry will mess up the last task.