Breakfast next morning was a very noisy affair at the Gryffindor and Hufflepuff tables, but when the post owls appeared and delivered the Daily Prophet to the Slytherin table it became loud just the same. 'Ha, I was hoping this would arrive today! Especially today' Draco said gleefully. Maya did not ask, but immediately snatched the copy out of his hands. The absurd dream she had last night still had a very strong effect on her and she could really do with this distraction, or basically any type of distraction from the third task that she would not be attending. Seeing Harry probably win it all was too much for her to handle, and for a few very pleasant minutes she buried herself in the article, obviously written by Rita Skeeter.
HARRY POTTER 'DISTURBED AND DANGEROUS'
The boy who defeated He Who Must Not Be Named is unstable and possibly dangerous. Potter regularly collapses at school, and is often heard to complain of pain in the scar on his forehead (relic of the curse with which You-Know-Who attempted to kill him). This naturally casts doubts upon his suitability to compete in the Triwizard Tournament or even to attend Hogwarts at all. According to top experts at St Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries it is very possible that Potter's brain was affected by You-Know-Who's attack. They also make it a point to mention that Potter's actions are but a plea for attention. Furthermore, the Daily Prophet has unearthed worrying facts about Harry Potter that Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, has carefully concealed from the wizarding public. 'Potter can speak Parseltongue, and he's made friends with werewolves and giants' reveals Draco Malfoy, a fourth year at Hogwarts. Parseltongue has of course long been considered a Dark Art and any wizard who is capable of speaking Parseltongue should be worthy of investigation.
'Hey, Potter! How's your head? You feeling all right? Sure you're not going to go berserk on us?' Draco shouted across the Great Hall. Various Slytherins were laughing at Harry, tapping their heads with their fingers, pulling grotesquely mad faces and waggling their tongues like snakes. Maya did not have the energy to join in but she did really appreciate the article just the same. It was good for Harry to realise that not everyone was his fan. The rest of the day passed uneventfully and after the evening feast, during which very excited chattering filled the Great Hall, Maya was literally the only person in the entire castle who did not make her way to the Quidditch pitch for the third and last task of the Triwizard Tournament. In her opinion the only good thing about it was that after tonight at least the whole thing would be over. While the rest of the school were undoubtedly filling the stands by now, Maya retreated to her room and took out her copy of the Animagus book. As she read it, she whole-heartedly decided to undertake that fascinating journey next year.
'Wait, I missed WHAT?' Maya gasped. It was past midnight and everyone had finally returned to the Slytherin common room. Draco informed her that Harry had returned from the maze with the Triwizard Cup and, more importantly, Cedric Diggory's dead body. The common room was exceptionally quiet. Next morning, Maya found the whole school was in a state of complete shock. Wherever she went she ran into sobbing girls and anyone who spoke did so in whispers. At breakfast, Dumbledore spoke to them all but it was not to give them a detailed account of just what had happened in the maze last night. The Headmaster merely requested that they leave Harry alone and that nobody was to ask him any questions. That was fine with Maya, and she could not help but notice that people had started to feel really uncomfortable around her cousin. They were skirting him in the corridors, avoiding his eyes and some of the more brazen ones whispered behind their hands. Maya figured that these actions were the result of both Rita Skeeter's article and Harry appearing with Cedric's corpse. Perhaps they were formulating their own theories about how Cedric had died, but Maya was sure she would hear all about it from Draco in due time.
The Leaving Feast was a rather sober affair. All the usual decorations had made way for black drapes, as a mark of respect for Cedric. When Professor Dumbledore stood up at the staff table, the Great Hall, already much less noisy than it usually was, became very quiet. 'The end,' he said, looking around at them all, 'of another year.' He paused and his eyes fell upon the Hufflepuff table, which had been the most subdued by far and still had the saddest and palest faces in the Hall. 'First and foremost, I must acknowledge the loss of a very fine person, who would be sitting at the Hufflepuff table, enjoying our Feast with us. I would like everyone, please, to stand and raise your glasses, to Cedric Diggory.'
They did. Benches scraped as everyone in the Hall stood and raised their goblets. 'Cedric Diggory' they said in unison.
'Cedric, in many regards, was a true Hufflepuff. He was a good and loyal friend, a hard worker and there were few things he valued more than fair play. I'm sure that his death has affected each and every one of you, and therefore I feel that you have the right to know exactly how it came about. Cedric Diggory was murdered by Lord Voldemort' Dumbledore continued. He remained perfectly calm when a panicked whisper swept the Great Hall. 'The Ministry of Magic strongly feels that it would be best for me not to tell you this, because your parents might not believe that Lord Voldemort has returned. Truth, however, is generally preferable to lies and anything but the truth would be nothing short of an insult to Cedric's memory.'
'He surely returned' Draco muttered to Maya, Vincent and Gregory, as everyone looked most stunned and frightened at Dumbledore. Maya, however, did not feel either of those things. She was a Slytherin after all, and very good friends with quite possibly the most important person in her house.
'I must mention someone else in connection with Cedric's death. I am talking, of course, about Harry Potter' Dumbledore went on, and some heads turned in Harry's direction. 'Harry Potter managed to escape Lord Voldemort, risking his own life to bring Cedric's body back to Hogwarts. He showed the sort of bravery that very few wizards have ever shown in facing Lord Voldemort, and for this I wish to honour him.' The Headmaster raised his goblet once more. Nearly everyone in the Great Hall followed suit but Maya, Draco, Vincent, Gregory and many other Slytherins defiantly remained in their seats, leaving their goblets untouched. Maya merely glared at her cousin. It felt like ten years ago that she had teamed up with him in the Chamber of Secrets, rather than two. She was not planning on ever joining forces with the likes of him again. Dumbledore concluded his speech by mentioning how important friendships and mutual magical understanding would be in the dire times ahead, making sure to look directly at the Beauxbatons and Durmstrang students.
There was not a cloud in the sky when they made their journey back to King's Cross the next day. The Daily Prophet published a small piece on the Tournament, saying Harry had won, but there was no word about Cedric. According to Draco, Minister for Magic Cornelius Fudge was forcing them to keep quiet. The train journey was quite pleasant and Maya was thoroughly looking forward to next year. She might become a Prefect and she was thinking about her Animagus quest, when Draco got up. 'Let's have a little chat with the Triwizard Tournament winner. He should know that he picked the losing side, and I did warn him the first day at Hogwarts' he said.
'Ugh, did you really have to put it like that' Maya sighed in annoyance. The whole disaster with Cedric had subsided her negative thoughts for a bit, but the unpleasant fact that Harry actually did win was extremely painful to think about.
'Sorry' Draco shrugged, and after Maya stated she would rather stay behind, he left with Vincent and Gregory. When they had not returned after about twenty minutes, however, she decided to go and look for them. She walked past packed compartments until she saw her friends lying unconsciously in the corridor, right outside a compartment with Harry, Ron, Hermione, Fred and George in it. Much to her horror, the Slytherins had sprouted what appeared to be little tentacles all over their faces. Feeling a surge of anger, Maya carefully stepped over her motionless friends and banged heavily on the compartment door.
'Hey! What the hell did you do to them?!' she spat angrily. She actually had to restrain herself from going totally berserk.
The compartment door slid open. 'Oh, hi there, Dursley. You're rather late to the party!' Fred said pleasantly.
'Yeah, you missed all the fun!' George joined in. Maya looked past them and fixed her eyes on her cousin, who stared defiantly back.
'You just wait,' she said softly, but full of suppressed anger, 'your time will come, I promise.' And then, realising she could never win against five people by herself, she turned around and made her solitary way back to her compartment. The rest of the journey was rather lonely too, and she was now even more determined to do everything in her power to make Harry's life as miserable as she could.
