Maya knelt down in front of the flower bed and gently thumbed the broken stem of the flower she'd planted just a short while ago. This month's community engagement project was helping cleanup and create a new community garden in Brooklyn. She had spent the morning planting different flower beds, only to come back after a short break to find one of them had been trampled over in the intervening time. Her magic began to pool in her fingers as she considered whether she could fix it without any of the muggles noticing.

"Miss Nichols."

She jerked her hand back, plastering an angelic smile on her face, as she turned to face her professor.

"Yes, Professor Mephisto?"

He raised an eyebrow, his expression stern and unimpressed.

"Why don't you go and help Mr Murphy paint the mural, before you get yourself into trouble."

"Of course, professor."

She fled in Ronan's direction, thankful that he hadn't made too much of a fuss about what he'd nearly caught her doing. Although to be fair, she hadn't actually used her magic, she'd just been considering it.

"Causing trouble again?"

He winked at her, his voice playful. Maya rolled her eyes, but she couldn't suppress a smile.

"When have you ever known me to cause trouble?"

"Didn't you unleash a tornado on your magical studies class just last week."

"Only a small one."

"Uh-huh. And weren't you and Kamala responsible for the explosion of confetti and glitter in the dining hall last month?"

"We were just trying out a gift from my friends in Britain."

"You made Professor Thompson cry."

"The glitter getting in his eyes was a complete accident."

"Yeah, what about that herd of kittens that was unleashed on the unsuspecting public in Central Park on our last community day?"

"I got distracted by the puppies."

"Trouble with a capital T."

She giggled and swung the paintbrush she was holding at Ronan, splashing him with droplets of purple paint.

"Oh yeah? Well, who was it who hijacked the school sound system and put that Wham song on loop just before Christmas?" She raised her eyebrows and smirked at him.

He grinned and retaliated by flicking his own paintbrush at her, leaving green and yellow spots on her face and hair.

"At least I've never set a hell-plant on anybody."

Reminding her of the week when she had brought in the plant Neville had gifted her to show her Herbology teacher. Unfortunately, it had reacted to the ambient magic of the school, quadrupling in size in a matter of minutes and escaping the greenhouses to terrorise the student population until the teachers had finally been able to round it up.

"That was an accident!" Her protest was swift, "Unlike you turning the swimming pool green for St Patrick's day."

She dipped her paintbrush in the can of blue paint and then dabbed his nose with it.

"I was demonstrating my Irish pride, besides aren't you the one who made everyone's hair green that day?"

He countered, poking both her cheeks, and leaving multicoloured smears behind.

"Children." A stern voice interrupted their playful banter. "I believe the paint is supposed to be going on the wall, not each other."

They both turned to face their teacher, Professor Mephisto, who was standing behind them with his arms crossed and a frown on his face.

"Yes, Professor Mephisto." They chorused, looking sheepish.

"Well," He waved a hand at the wall. "Don't let me stop you." He said sarcastically, before walking away to check on the other students.

"You still cause way more trouble than me." Ronan said softly as they both began to fill in the mural that had been stencilled on earlier.

"Do not!"

"Do too."

In the ten weeks that she had been training with Takeshi their routine hadn't deviated very much. He would watch her closely as she performed the moves, he had taught her, pointing out any flaws in her footwork, her hand position, and her execution. She had worked hard to improve, and his corrections had become fewer and fewer, until last week, when he had said nothing at all. After practicing on her own, she would face him in a sparring session, where he would challenge her to go faster and faster, testing her speed and reflexes. This week, as she moved through the forms with grace and precision, he nodded approvingly and gave her a rare smile.

"Good. You are ready for the next step."

He snapped his fingers and a small cross of white chalk appeared on the floor.

"Stand there, eyes forward. Keep your staff in the middle block position. I am going to walk around you, now and then I will strike. Keep your eyes forward. Do not look at me. Do not turn your head. Move only when it is necessary for you to do so in order to block me. Blocks only. Do not strike at me."

"How can I block you if I can't watch you?"

"Be ready. Become one with your senses, do not allow your thoughts to dictate your actions. Act only when you must. If you allow your thoughts to clutter your mind, I will hit you."

"You're going to hurt me?"

He shook his head smiling softly.

"Silly little wolf." There was a note of affection in his tone, "I am here to teach you, not to harm you. I will tap you. How else will you know you were wrong?"

He paced slowly in front of her, his own staff held loosely in his hands.

"Stop following me with your eyes. Look straight ahead. Wait. Listen. Relax. Your hands are not in the correct position. Stop winking. I have not hit you yet and twitching your eyes will not protect your face."

Maya threw up a high block expecting him to strike at her head based on his comments. He jabbed her lightly in the ribs.

"Do not listen to my words, my words are nothing. Forget about what you want for dinner, or what boy you are hoping will ask you to the dance, or –" he shifted slightly. She whipped her head round, blocking low and was rewarded with a tap to her skill. "Do not try to outthink me. Maybe one day you will be able to, but not today. I'm in my centre, in my empty space. I go where I like."

Another high strike. Her block glanced off Takeshi's staff a breath too late. He thumped her head lightly.

For the next half an hour, Takeshi walked his staff up and down her body, talking or silent, always in motion. She didn't manage to block a single strike, even when she moved to the correct position to block his blows, she was always a hairsbreadth too slow. He didn't stop till the bell rang to signal the end of the lesson.

"You did good."

"But I didn't manage to block you."

"Not yet. You will. In the meantime –"

"Practice?"

"Practice."

"Are you ready Miss Maya?" Dobby asked, his large eyes glowing with fondness.

"Ready." Maya replied with a firm nod, as she stepped onto the small stool Dobby had placed in front of the counter for her so that she could reach everything easily.

"You've washed your hands?"

"I've washed my hands." She held them up palms out for him to see.

"Okay."

Dobby placed the large mixing bowl on the counter in front of her where she could reach it easily.

"First, we need three cups of flour."

Maya scooped up the flour from the bag and levelled it with a knife. She poured it into the bowl, creating a soft white mound. She repeated the process two more times, until the bowl was almost half full of flour.

"Next, three quarters of a cup of sugar."

She opened the jar and filled the measuring cup with sugar, once she had the correct amount, she sprinkled it over the flour. The tiny sugar crystals sparkled in the light of the sun that came through the kitchen window, like tiny jewels.

"Now, one cup of whole milk." Dobby instructed.

Maya reached for the milk carton and carefully poured the milk into the measuring cup. She tilted it slowly over the bowl, letting the milk trickle down into the dry mixture. She watched as the milk moistened the flour and sugar, creating a sticky paste. As she did so, Dobby snapped his fingers and the flour bag, and the sugar jar flew back to their places in the cupboard.

"A quarter of a cup of melted butter is next, I'll do that miss Maya as it's still hot."

With another snap of his fingers, the dish lifted off the stove and floated over to the mixing bowl. It hovered above the bowl for a moment, then flipped over and poured the melted butter into the mixture. The butter sizzled slightly as it met the cold milk, creating bubbles and steam.

"Now the spices. One and a half teaspoons of cinnamon and a quarter of a teaspoon of allspice." Dobby said, opening the spice rack.

He handed Maya the measuring spoons and the spice jars. Maya opened the cinnamon jar and scooped out a heaping teaspoon of the brown powder. She tapped the spoon on the edge of the bowl, releasing the cinnamon into the mixture. She smelled the warm, sweet aroma of the spice, and smiled. She did the same with another half teaspoon of cinnamon, then moved on to the allspice. She measured out a quarter of a teaspoon of the dark, fragrant spice, and added it to the bowl. She closed the spice jars and returned them to Dobby, who put them back in the rack.

"Done."

"Lastly, one cup of raisins, and one cup of walnuts please miss Maya."

Maya filled the cups with raisins and walnuts, and dumped them into the bowl.

"If you would mix all those together, please Miss Maya, and I will prepare the yeast and the egg."

She picked up the large wooden spoon that sat next to the bowl and began to stir the contents, making sure that they were all well combined as they began to come together in a thick doughy concoction. Whilst she was doing that Dobby moved over to the other counter and poured some hot water over a packet of yeast. As he was waiting for the yeast to dissolve into the water, he cracked the egg over another bowl and whisked it with a fork, adding a pinch of salt and a dash of vanilla in as he did so.

"What now?"

"Now we fold the yeast and the egg into the mixture to finish creating the dough. The yeast is still quite hot Miss Maya, so I'll do that part. In the meantime, you can mix together the frosting." He pointed to a smaller bowl and the ingredients he'd left out. "one cup of orange juice, one tablespoon of milk and two cups of icing sugar. Mix together until smooth please Miss Maya."

She nodded, measured out the ingredients as instructed into the bowl and began to stir them altogether. The two of them were just finishing with their separate tasks when Damone entered the kitchen.

"So, what are we making?"

"Hot cross buns for the Ostara celebration."

He brushed a light kiss on her forehead and laughed when she whacked away the finger he'd tried to dip into the frosting.

"Yum, can't wait."

Dobby placed a piece of cloth over the bowl of dough before moving it onto the windowsill.

"It needs to rise, then I'll put it in the oven to cook. Go and get ready for your footy-ball game Miss Maya, I'll bring the buns to the celebration once they're finished."

"Thanks for helping Dobby."

"Miss Maya is most welcome."

Maya shot out of the kitchen to get ready for her soccer game. Dobby smiled and snapped his fingers, the bowl of frosting disappeared from the countertop and reappeared on a shelf in the fridge, just in time to prevent Damon from his second attempt to get a taste.

"Oh, come on Dobby just a try."

"Miss Maya's frosting be going on the buns mister Damon, not on your fingers."

"What is that funny box your holding?"

"It's a camera."

"What does it do?"

"It takes photos."

"What is a photo?"

"It's like a super realistic picture."

"What is a picture?"

"Um… well it's like an image of something on a piece of paper. So, if I took a photo of you, I would end up with a small piece of paper that held your exact image on it."

"How does it work?"

"Well, I would look through this part here…"

Maya held her camera up and began to point out different parts and explaining their purpose to Vasuki, the Massasauga rattlesnake she had met the previous night when they'd been setting up the cabin. Damon had rented it for them to stay in during their weeklong holiday to Niagara Falls, because he refused to stay in tents as Stefan had suggested. Explaining photography to a snake was difficult, even for a Parselmouth, so eventually she grabbed some pictures she'd taken with her instant camera and began to show them to Vasuki instead.

This was the scene Stefan came upon when he returned from his hunt, he'd caught and fed on the blood of some deer's that were grazing a few miles away. Maya sitting on the ground an array of photos in front of her for the interested snake to look at, whilst Damon sat on the porch watching them, a fond smile on his face. He joined Damon on the porch, without once taking his gaze from the curious sight. Despite knowing that Maya was a Parselmouth and could communicate with Vasuki, he was wary of her being that close to a venomous snake.

"Um, what's going on?"

"Maya's trying to explain photography to Vasuki."

"Why?"

"Because she wants to take some photographs of him."

"Why is it necessary to explain photography in order to take the photos?"

Damon shrugged.

"I think she wants him to pose in specific ways."

"Why?"

"She's in the photography club at school."

"I know, It's why you bought her that obscenely expensive camera."

"It wasn't obscenely expensive."

"It was for a twelve-year-old who'd only just joined a photography club."

"Agree to disagree brother. Anyway, the professor who runs the club is going to select the best wildlife photos and submit them to some competition or other. Maya took some already when we went to Central Park last week, but after meeting Vasuki last night she decided she wanted some of him as well. Apparently, his kind of snake is endangered, so it's rare for people to see them, but since Maya is a Parselmouth, she was able to persuade him to stick around for a while."

"Isn't that cheating?"

"It's not cheating." Maya piped up suddenly. "It's using all available resources in order to succeed."

Damon looked so proud and approving that Stefan instantly knew who was responsible for feeding Maya that line.

"Maya, just because Damon says something, doesn't make it true."

Her face turned mulish.

"Maybe not, but he's right about this."

Stefan sighed, she could be incredibly stubborn sometimes and he already knew this was going to be one of those times.

"Okay, but you should probably take photographs of more than just Vasuki."

"I will."

She picked up the photos she'd been showing Vasuki and slid them into her pocket before turning back to the attentive snake.

"Ready?"

"Yessss."

"Great, could you raise your tail, like your warding away predators."