Ravenna's wand tickled the curve of Maddy's eyelid. She held her breath, willing herself not to flinch away.

"Blicanis," her cousin murmured.

A prickling sensation passed over her skin, like the skittering of an insect. Maddy blinked rapidly, as Karima paused in curling Venice's hair around her wand to admire the effect.

"Check it out, birthday girl!" said Ravenna, grinning with satisfaction.

Maddy pulled herself up by the porcelain sink basin and peered into the mirror. The delicate blue powder that Ravenna had brushed over her eyelids sparkled fetchingly on her reflection.

Maddy laughed, delighted. "Brilliant!"

"It should stay on until you use the face-cleansing potion I brewed for you," Ravenna informed her.

"I wish I could change the way I look," said Myrtle enviously. "People think pretty ghosts are romantic. No one wants spotty ones hanging about." She picked moodily at a blemish on her chin.

Maddy doubted it was the spots that made people avoid the ghost girl. Wisely, she kept her mouth shut, and continued pawing through Ravenna's makeup bag, considering what to try next.

Maddy's mother had let her try on her own paints and powders a few times at home, but said that makeup was not appropriate for school, and that Maddy was beautiful just as she was. But Maddy was sixteen now; only a year away from being a grown woman. It was high time she learned the arts that would make a man fall in love with her.

"It's got to be Lupin," said Karima, continuing a conversation she and Venice had brought with them from lunch. "He's much nicer, and better looking, even with the scars."

"Maybe," said Venice. "It just seems like she's been spending more time with Snape lately."

Karima wrinkled her nose. "I don't know what she even sees in him."

"I didn't say I would go out with him," said Venice, brushing a purplish potion over her fingernails, "just that Evans might."

"What do you think, Maddy?" asked Karima. "Snape's in Slytherin. Have you heard anything about him maybe getting together with Lily Evans?"

"Karima's bet me a galleon she'll end up with Lupin by the end of the year," Venice informed her.

Maddy frowned, testing lip glosses on the back of her hand. "Why should I care what some mudbloods do or don't do?"

Karima gasped.

"Maddy!" cried Venice, shocked.

Myrtle covered her mouth with both hands, eyes huge behind her spectacles.

"We don't call them that anymore," Ravenna admonished. "It's rude."

Maddy flushed. "It's not as if there are any of them here."

She gave Myrtle a quick sideways glance. Myrtle had never told them her surname, let alone her blood status, but Maddy thought it unlikely that a muggleborn girl could become a ghost.

"It's still not proper," said Venice.

"It's a bad habit to get into," said Ravenna primly. "If you become too accustomed to saying it, you might do it in front of the wrong person one day."

"It's just not nice." Karima's voice was soft. She did not quite meet Maddy's eyes.

"Fine, then, I won't say it," scowled Maddy. "I don't usually anyway; it just slipped out."

Ravenna cleared her throat. "Hey, let's do prezzies," she said brightly, breaking the tension.

Maddy's shoulders slumped with relief. She and her mother were judged often enough by other people; she did not care to be judged by her closest friends, too.

The small assortment of brightly-wrapped packages revealed a new Freya Lovelace novel from Ravenna, a book entitled Beauty Charms for Charming Witches from Venice, and a hair clip from Karima that looked as if it were made of real flowers.

"I saved you some gossip," volunteered Myrtle, not wanting to be left out.

"What is it?" Maddy asked warily. Myrtle's idea of good gossip did not always measure up.

Myrtle puffed up proudly at the attention. "I caught someone wanking in the prefects' baths. A girl."

"Who was it?" asked Ravenna, intrigued.

Myrtle shrugged. "I can't keep track of their names. There are new ones every year. This one was ginger."

"Evans?" suggested Karima, raising her eyebrows at Venice.

Maddy's brow furrowed. "I thought only boys wanked."

"No, girls do it, too; just not as much," said Myrtle authoritatively. "Most boys do it sooner or later when they use the prefects' baths, but girls only do it sometimes."

"How?" asked Maddy, incredulous.

Myrtle gestured vaguely. "It's like I told you before, about girls doing it with other girls, except they do it by themselves. They just sort of ... rub between their legs, I suppose. All I know is that it's different from when boys do it. Boys are usually done in a couple of minutes, but she was at it for ages. And she made all these noises, like it was hurting her, but -"

Maddy was more confused than ever. "But why?"

"Because it feels good," said Ravenna.

Four pairs of wide eyes rounded on her.

"How would you know?" asked Venice. "Have you done it?"

Ravenna shrugged, ears going pink. "It stands to reason, doesn't it? Sex is supposed to feel good, so why wouldn't touching yourself down there feel good, too? Maddy, you've read Freya Lovelace's books; you know what it's supposed to be like."

"I suppose ..." said Maddy hesitantly. "But - have any of you ever done it?"

"No," Venice said firmly. "That's where piss comes out. And other things. It would be nasty, touching there."

"If I had, I probably wouldn't tell anyone," said Karima. "It seems very private and personal."

"I wish I'd known about it when I was alive," Myrtle declared. "I would've tried it."

"Is it all right to do that, though?" Maddy asked. "We're not supposed to let boys touch us, and Mum says dwelling on thoughts like that leads to temptation."

"Maybe it's a way of getting rid of temptation without doing anything one shouldn't," suggested Ravenna.

"If you're not sure whether it's all right or not," said Venice, "you probably shouldn't do it."

"You don't even want to do it," said Maddy, rolling her eyes.

Her cousin frowned. "Do you?"

"I dunno," Maddy deflected. "I haven't really thought about it, have I? I've only just found out it's something girls can do."

"There's probably no harm in trying it, if you're curious," said Karima thoughtfully. "It doesn't seem to have done Evans any harm, if that was her in the baths."

That gave Maddy pause. Muggleborn girls were notorious for having loose morals. She had no desire to emulate them in any way, whether Karima and the others thought such experimentation was acceptable or not.

"Speaking of boys and related subjects," said Ravenna, "I have some news. Xenophilius Lovegood asked me to Hogsmeade with him, Halloween weekend."

Myrtle gave a cry of excitement.

"And you're only just now telling us?" exclaimed Venice.

"Well," Ravenna demurred, "it's Maddy's birthday. I didn't want to steal her thunder. He only asked me last night."

Karima grinned. "That's wonderful. I know you've liked him for a while."

"You'll tell us all about it?" demanded Myrtle.

"Of course." Ravenna looked very smug. "Sorry that I'll be abandoning the rest of you, though."

"We don't mind it being just the three of us, for once," Venice assured her.

"Actually," said Maddy, heart beating faster, "I might be going with someone, too."

"Who?" asked Ravenna.

Maddy shrugged, trying to look as if it did not matter at all. "Oh, just Rab."

Venice frowned. "Who's Rab?"

"Rabastan Lestrange."

He had not asked her yet, but Maddy was almost certain that he would. Since the night he had first kissed her, almost a month before, he had cornered and kissed her a few more times, and tried to touch her breasts or her backside when he thought no one was looking. Maddy knew she should not let him take such liberties, so she tried to limit her time with him to public settings, like lessons and meals, and when the common room was full of their fellow Slytherins, but the truth was, a part of her liked his touches. They thrilled her and made her feel like the heroine of her own romance novel.

"Lestrange?" Now it was Karima's turn to frown. "Isn't he ... kind of a creeper?"

"Not the sort of bloke you'd want to catch you alone," agreed Venice.

I was alone with him, thought Maddy. It was exciting. Nothing bad happened.

"He's not as bad as that," she said aloud. "I like him."

"Oooooooh," squealed Myrtle, soaring about the room in great loops of excitement. "Maddy and Rabastan!"

Maddy blushed. "Shut it. I only said I might be going to Hogsmeade with him."

"Who is this bloke?" Ravenna asked.

"He's the son of Ferreolus and Penelope Lestrange," said Venice meaningfully.

"Oh!" said Ravenna, eyes widening.

"What? What does that mean?" Maddy demanded, looking back and forth between her cousins.

"Is there gossip?" Myrtle asked, leaning in eagerly.

"At the Fawleys' Yule party last year," said Ravenna. "Venice and I weren't there, but Mum and Dad were. The Lestrange boy got caught in the cloakroom with Alice Finch."

"So he kissed some other girl last year," scowled Maddy. "Why should I care about that?"

"Mum and Dad wouldn't tell us any of the details," said Venice, "but Alice is in Gryffindor, and she swears she can't remember going into the cloakroom with him."

Karima nodded. "She was properly upset about it. Her boyfriend, Frank Longbottom, says if Lestrange so much as looks at her wrong again, he'll call him out."

"She was probably just embarrassed about getting caught." Maddy shifted uncomfortably and toyed with her new hair clip. The thought of Rabastan doing things with another girl made her feel strange. "You know, if they were doing something they weren't supposed to."

Ravenna shook her head. "I don't think so. Mum told us they heard a sound like a steam whistle, too loud to be a scream, and that's how they found them. She thinks the girl did some accidental magic. That's not the kind of thing that usually happens with someone her age, unless they're in a bad way."

"Either way, you should be careful, Maddy," said Venice, looking concerned. "He's not very nice."

Maddy hunched her shoulders. Why was everyone being so judgmental? Were they trying to spoil her birthday? She had been having such a lovely time up until now, and had been excited to tell her friends about maybe going out with Rabastan. She was not doing anything wrong. Why were they making her feel as if she were? Maddy did not even know the Finch girl. She had no reason to take her word for anything.

"He's nice to me," she insisted. "He's clever and - and kind. He's been helping me with Runes."

"If you say so," Ravenna said sceptically. "But if you ever need an excuse to get away from him, you can always use us. Say you promised to meet up with us somewhere, and if you're late we'll come looking for you."

"Sure," mumbled Maddy, not meeting her cousin's eyes. If her friends were going to make her feel ashamed for liking Rabastan, he would not be the one she wanted an excuse to get away from.

"It's almost time for supper," said Karima, much to Maddy's relief.

She told the others she wanted to take her gifts back to her dormitory before heading to the Great Hall, and excused herself. Maddy had had enough of their company for one day, especially if they were going to spread nasty gossip about Rabastan. Perhaps sometimes he could be cruel, but it was only in fun, and only towards people who did not matter. The Lestranges were an old pure-blood family, and Maddy knew Rabastan had good breeding, deep down. If he was a bit rough around the edges, well, so were Freya Lovelace's romantic heroes. Perhaps he, too, could be tamed by the love of a good woman.

"What're you all tarted up for, Yaxley?" hooted a rude voice, breaking through her reverie.

Maddy blinked in surprise to find herself face-to-face with Sirius Black and his friends.

"It's my birthday, Black," she snapped. "Why? Do you need some makeup tips?"

Black fluttered his eyelashes. "Someone as naturally pretty as me doesn't need makeup."

"Happy birthday, Maddy," said Peter Pettigrew shyly.

James Potter cuffed him in the arm, laughing. "Careful, Pete. She'll ensnare you with her feminine wiles."

"Leave the lady alone," said a gruff voice.

Maddy whirled, startled, to find Rabastan standing behind her. He appeared nonchalant, but his wand was in his hand.

Potter guffawed. "If she's a lady, then I'm a basilisk's backside."

"Basilisks don't have backsides," murmured Lupin.

Black snorted. "If they did, they would definitely look like him."

Rabastan raised his wand. Instantly, three wands were pointed back at him. Only Pettigrew hesitated.

"You really want to do this, Lestrange?" Potter asked. "Four against one?"

"Two!" cried Maddy, belatedly drawing her own wand. Her heart hammered in her throat as she tried to recall some useful hexes.

"Someone ought to teach you Gryffindor tossers a lesson," growled Rabastan.

"It won't be you," sneered Black.

Heavy footfalls rang from the stones, and Professor Slughorn, the Potions Master, rounded the corner.

"What's all this?" he asked, a slight edge to his usually amiable voice. "Potter? Black?"

Slughorn barely seemed to notice Maddy or Rabastan, and hardly spared a glance at Lupin or Pettigrew either.

"We were just having a little disagreement, Professor," Potter said easily, pocketing his wand.

The Potions Master gave him a stern look. "You know I can't tolerate dueling in the corridors, lads. I might be forced to take house points, and I know no one wants that."

"Of course not, Professor."

Black, too, lowered his wand. Lupin's had already disappeared. Pettigrew looked relieved.

"You'd best be getting along," said Slughorn heartily. "It's nearly supper time. You don't want to be late."

Rabastan scowled after the departing figures. "Dunno how he can favour those blood-traitors, when he's the head of our house. Just because Potter and Black are in his stupid club ..."

"You're not?" asked Maddy, surprised.

She would have thought someone as clever as Rabastan, who came from such a lofty background, would have been among the first invited to join the Professor's so-called Slug Club for up-and-coming young wizards and witches.

"No." Rabastan finally looked at Maddy. "You look nice. Really pretty. Did I hear you say it's your birthday?"

"Yeah," said Maddy, warming under the glow of his praise.

"If I'd known, I would've given you something." His smile was almost a smirk.

If she had not been wearing makeup, Maddy did not think she could have found the courage, but as it was, she blurted out, "Maybe you could take me to Hogsmeade, instead. That is, if you don't already have plans?"

He grinned in the slow, intent way that always melted Maddy's insides.

"It's a date."