Chapter 2

Maeve arrived back at her compartment a few minutes later, and was greeted by her three best friends, Lena Travers and Naomi Shay- and her second cousin, Sam Weasley.

"What are you doing here Sam?" she questioned as she slid the compartment door shut behind her.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Waiting for you, naturally. Mum gave me a birthday present for you, said it was too big for Pig to deliver."

Sam didn't seem to be in any rush to give it to her, but then Sam was never in a rush for anything. He was one of those people for whom time seemed to move at a different speed. With Sam, everything was slow, leisurely and relaxed. If he was anymore laid back he'd be going backwards, was the general consensus.

He was long and lanky, with the trademark freckles and flaming red hair of the Weasley clan. Sam was the second of four kids, and his parents, Ron and Hermione, were close friends of her own parents. The families were related by blood as well, as Maeve's mother, Sally, was a cousin of Ron's, although she'd been brought up in Ireland and home-schooled by her parents, meaning she'd never attended Hogwarts. Sally and Harry had met at The Burrow the summer Harry turned 18.

Sam yawned, and stretched.

"I suppose I better give it to you," he eventually amended. "Here you go. Happy belated birthday."

He handed her a neatly wrapped parcel. It was square in shape, and rather heavy. It was probably books, knowing Hermione.

Maeve unwrapped it to find a book, as she had expected- "Raoul Herman's Encyclopaedia of Spells" she read aloud.

She flipped it over. "Every spell ever uttered in the history of the universe, its effect, source and hazards." She grinned. "Thanks Sam."

"No problem," he said languidly, rising to his feet. "Now, if you'll excuse me ladies……" the rest of his sentence trailed off as he disappeared around the doorframe.

Once Sam was out of sight, Maeve was grabbed by Lena and shoved into a seat as Naomi shut the compartment door.

"Well?" Lena questioned eagerly. "Who's the Head Boy? Is he cute?"

"He is NOT cute," Maeve said vehemently. "He's a Malfoy. It's grammatically wrong to have the word Malfoy in the same sentence as any complimentary adjective, cute included."

"Oh," said Naomi, slumping into her seat with an air of dejection. "Pity. But true."

Lena nodded, looking miserable because, as she saw it, her friend's prospects for happiness had disappeared into thin air.

Maeve, however was paying no attention to her friends, which was unusual, as usually she would be teasing Lena for her fixation on romance and the male species in general, a fixation that was nearing a medical condition.

No, Maeve was engaged in a furious inner battle with the part of her brain that had helpfully reminded her that before she heard Dominic's surname she had thought him rather good looking. That, she told herself decidedly, is just wrong. He's a Malfoy, for Merlin's sake! Eventually, the little voice gave up, and sidled back into its corner, much to Maeve's relief.

Once the voice retreated, Maeve took the opportunity to describe her two friends to the hypothetical mind-reader that was currently listening in on her thoughts. And anyway, mid-reader or no, she enjoyed explaining things.

Naomi Shay was a pale Gryffindor of average height, with dark blue eyes and thick black hair that was often streaked with other colours, blue at the moment. Naomi dressed slightly gothically, and appeared tired most of the time, as she preferred to sleep little and at really crazy hours, like at lunch time. She was always chirpy at just the wrong times, such as early in the morning, or just before an exam, and was one of those people who always seems to be right at the exact time you want them to be wrong, like when they're telling you to just bite the bullet for God's sake and ask that guy out instead of mooning over your unrequited love.

Lena Travers was a petite girl with light blue eyes, a round, cheerful face and masses of light brown curly hair. She was bouncy, bubbly and outgoing, not to mention loyal to the bitter end. She was boy-crazy, always had been, and loved nothing better than to act as agony aunt. However, she'd eventually got frustrated with Naomi and Maeve, who usually refused to spill their secrets, so now she peddled her advice among Sam and his friends instead, who appreciated it more, apparently. Lena was down-to-earth and practical, not to mention very perceptive, and she could tell instantly when something was wrong, always doing her best to help the person in question. Unlike Maeve and Naomi, who were both more or less purebloods, Lena was a muggleborn, but held her head high despite taunts from the Slytherins.

And then there was Maeve herself. Maeve had a rather self-depreciating view of life, being of the opinion that the only reason people took any notice of her was because she was Harry Potter's daughter. Naturally, that did apply to some of the shallower people she met, but overall it was a load of rubbish. Maeve was well-liked throughout the school (barring Slytherins, obviously) because she was kind, caring, and had a great sense of humour, sarcasm being her preferred forté.

"Hey sis?"

Maeve was startled from her reverie by the appearance of her 14-year-old brother, Sirius. Sirius was quite like Harry in appearance, small, skinny and pale, with bright green eyes, but he didn't wear glasses and his untidy hair was auburn, like their mother's.

"Yeah?"

"Have you seen my wand? I can't find it anywhere. I think Mum might have put it with your stuff by mistake."

"You see, little bro, this is what you get for not doing your own packing," said Maeve calmly as she pulled out her trunk. She opened it and pointed her own wand at the contents.

"Accio wand!"

There was a strange whizzing sound from the corridor, then a loud "OW!" as the wand threw itself at Sirius' skull.

Maeve plucked the wand out of mid-air and handed it to her brother, a slight smile on her lips.

"Thanks," Sirius mumbled, rubbing his head.

Maeve grinned. "You're welcome. I'm sure there's a very good reason why you couldn't find your wand, considering it came from your compartment. Toodles!"

Sirius scowled, muttering under his breath as he left.

"You're so mean," Lena scolded. "The poor child!"

Maeve snorted. "Poor child nothing, the kid's a twit. And he knows I love him really."

"But Lena sets such a good example, we really out to take heed Maeve," Naomi smirked. "What was it Joe said the last time he saw me? Oh yes, I remember now- Did you help Lena kidnap my toad? I know you helped her take Croaky last year. It's not fair, why can't I have another brother instead?"

Maeve and Lena both cracked up at Naomi's perfect imitation of Lena's whiny 13-year-old brother, Joe, who was in Hufflepuff.

"Ah, he deserved it," Lena said off-handedly. "After all, I know he was the one who persuaded Stephen to hide my magazines in his room this summer." She mimicked her youngest brother, "But Mum, I didn't do it, I swear! They just appeared. I didn't know they were Lena's! It's magic!"

They cracked up again. Stephen was Lena's other brother, who was to be sorted that night. Up till now, magic had been his excuse for everything- with a sister and a brother in Hogwarts, he hadn't been able to understand anything they talked about when they came home, only knowing it was to do with magic. Once he'd got his own letter, however, he realised he'd have to think up some new excuses.

"There it is, look!" said Naomi, sitting up and pointing out the window. Hogsmeade station could be seen a short way off, the buildings of the village silhouetted against the dusky sky. Maeve felt a thrill of excitement run through her bones. They were back!

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AN: Thanks sooo much to my one and only reviewer so far, floro13. You rock, seriously. Your review motivated me to update this story when I'd left it alone even though I loved the plot. So thank you! This chapter's for you.