The girls were lounging over their seats, chatting animatedly when the bells from the trolley rang. "Boy, I'm starving!" Riley exclaimed, jumping to her feet.

Maya's stomach rumbled in agreement but she turned her head away from the compartment door, glumly staring out the window instead. Riley was sliding open the compartment door when she glanced behind her and noticed Maya wasn't coming.

"Aren't you gonna get something to eat?" She inquired.

"No, it's okay," Maya said dismissively.

But her mournful stare had not escaped Riley's notice. Riley continued to stare at the girl, head tilted inquiringly.

Maya glanced at Riley. "I don't really have any money right now," she said hurriedly, turning back to the window.

"Oh," Riley said. "Well, that's okay, I'll pay for you, don't wo-"

"No," Maya said firmly, "I said it was okay, okay Riley? You don't have to feel bad for me or anything."

Riley shut the partly open door closed, then sat down next to Maya, looking her in the eye.

"Why is it such a big deal?" Riley asked gently, not wanting to upset her new friend further but not quite understanding why her new friend was making such a big deal out of it.

"Look, Riley, I don't like people doing things for me. You get your hopes up, you get disappointed. I take care of myself. So thanks, but no thanks."

Riley nodded solemnly. She stood up and walked out of the compartment.

Well, there goes a perfectly good friend, Maya thought, Just like Mom.

…

Maya had been glumly staring out the window, sandwich in hand but oblivious to her surroundings, when suddenly she felt the sandwich being tugged from her hand. Her first instinct was to reach for her wand but as she turned around, she saw a familiar face.

"Riley," Maya stated blankly.

"Hi Maya," Riley said, "I brought you food," she said firmly, taking the remorseful little sandwich from her and actually grabbing Maya's hand, placing a Pumpkin Pastie in it, then wrapping her fingers around Maya's, enclosing her hand around the Pastie.

Maya glanced at the Pumpkin Pastie. It was her favorite treat but she had only had it a handful of times, never having quite enough spare change to purchase it. She opened her mouth but no words came out.

"You're welcome," Riley said with a grin, relieved that her new friend hadn't refused her further. She sat down and got to work on a Cauldron Cake.

"Thank you," Maya said, somewhat uncomfortably as she wasn't used to generosity a lot. Still, she was grateful. Perhaps Riley sensed that because she smiled kindly at Maya before reverting back to their previous conversation.

Riley, Maya soon found out, was Half-Blood. Her father, Cory Matthews, the curly haired dad from the train station, was the Head of the Department of the Magical Education. He used to teach at Hogwarts, apparently, but after Riley was born, he wanted a job where he could come home everyday, rather than stay at Hogwarts. Her mother, Topanga Matthews, was a Muggleborn, and she too worked at the Ministry of Magic. She was a member of the Wizengamot. She used to be a part of the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol but after Riley's little brother Auggie was born, she stepped down. This was due partly to the fact that she wanted to spend more time with him, but it was also Cory who had been worrying about her too much that eventually made up her mind. From what Maya could figure out, they sounded like very loving, caring people. She had already picked up on their kind manner when she had crashed into them at King's Cross, and this only further reinforced her belief. Riley went on about how she had originally spent a lot of time with her weird Muggle Grandparents, Jedidah and Rhiannon Lawrence, because her parents had always been too busy with work. That explained why Riley seemed so sheltered from the harsher aspects of the Wizarding World, Maya realized.

Maya loved listening to the girl talk-until she asked her about herself.

"What about you?" Riley inquired excitingly.

Maya looked slightly taken aback and perhaps Riley realized it because she then said "Maya, it's okay, you don't have to talk about this if you don't want."

Maya looked into those big brown eyes and decided to take a chance. Why not? She thought.

"No, it's okay. I think I need to." Riley smiled lightly, urging Maya to continue. Riley sensed that there was a sadder aspect to Maya's background than met the eye, so she didn't want to push her to say anything she wasn't ready to share.

"Well. I'm a Pureblood. Or, at least, from what my mom says, I am. My mom runs a diner. Missy was right, it is in Knockturn Alley." Maya glanced at her friend as she said the name of the infamous place, worried that it might scare her friend away. Riley, however, did nothing of the sort, so Maya continued. "It's actually located off the edge of Diagon Alley, so it's sort of the barrier between the two. It has a kind of weird reputation. It used to be a Muggle restaurant, but a couple Half-Bloods bought it from them and turned the whole thing into a Wizarding diner. My mom eventually took control over it. What a lot of people don't like about it is that there's an entrance open to Muggles too. And, it's one of the few places in Knockturn Alley that doesn't have any Dark Magic. We sell Muggle food there too, so the Muggles see the Muggle menu only, but the Wizards can order from the Muggle or the Wizarding Menu. Like I said, it's weird, both to the Muggles, and the Wizards, but the people love the food anyway, so I guess you could say it's kind of popular. My mom used to always keep me at the table right by the entrance, and I used to draw, or take pictures, or read books while she worked her shifts. That was when I was really little but she couldn't afford someone to watch me. She stopped taking me there because we had an incident a while back with some Dark Wizards coming into the shop. They took some stuff and.." Maya pursed her lips, looking a bit uncomfortable. She again glanced at Riley, feeling suddenly vulnerable, but she found reassurance in Riley's eyes. "Well, I was really little, and after they left, I got mad at my mom for letting them take so much of our stuff. It wasn't her fault, I guess, but after that, she started letting me roam around instead of staying in the shop. We spent less time together, and I learned how to fend for myself."

Riley nodded. Maya had to admit, the kid was a good listener. She had to be, because Maya had never told anyone her own story before. It actually felt kind of...nice. And she hadn't run away from her, even after the duel, after she tried to push her away. Kid must have been worth something, Maya thought.

"Thanks...friend," Maya smiled.

"No problem, friend." Riley said gently.

Oh no, Maya thought to herself, this kid might actually save me.