"i want to make the best of what is left hold tight
and hear my beating heart one last time before daylight."

"They're going to release Godzilla this year. I heard it's really good."

"What the fuck is that?"

"Um, a big ass lizard. I haven't even read what it's about, but I love surreal films." Eden said.

"Yeah, that explains why you liked Titanic so much."

"I can't believe what you're saying right now." Eden said, frowning and a disgusted expression on his face.

"And what is that?" A voice very different from the boy's spoke. Maia turned and saw Daphne standing next to her; with a small smile, she removed the backpack so the blonde could sit down.

"I fell asleep while watching Titanic. Eden and I went to the muggle cinema during Christmas break and he says he throroughly enjoyed it, but I couldn't stand it. It was corny and too long for me —Merlin, three and a half hours, can you believe that?—, and the ending was literally unbelievable. There was room enough for Jack to fit in the wood and you can't make me believe otherwise."

"That's the point! Jack died for love." Eden protested. "You're just a cinematographic amoeba."

Daphne chuckled at the constant quarrel of her two companions. Maia frowned, not knowing if she should hit Eden for what he had just called her, or just let it go —because, honestly, she had no idea what he had just said.

"Well then I hope Rose lived a long, happy life because her lover surely couldn't." Deadpanned Maia, sticking her fork into her dinner.

"Put some respect on Titanic's name, you uncultured ass." Eden pointed at her with his finger but continued eating anyways. "Speaking of lovers, where is yours?"

"Eden!" Maia shrieked.

"What? It's not like she'll say anything." Daphne looked at them, equally confused as before —muggle films weren't permitted in her household. "Miss Malfoy here is living a lesbian soap opera, a dream, if you ask me."

Daphne Greengrass raised an eyebrow in amusement as she cast a sidelong glance at Maia, whose cheeks reddened. "May I ask her name?"

"Weasley." Eden laughed, his food almost spilling.

Daphne's expression suddenly changed. "Haven't you heard? Weasley and Longbottom had a heated argument with the Carrows. I don't know what it was about, but even McGonagall had to interfere."

Maia's face went pale in seconds. Eden and Daphne shared a gloomy look. Maia rose from the bench as fast as lightning, and the two Slytherins urgently followed suit, worried about what the Malfoy might do.

Eden tried to stop the girl even though he already knew in advance that his efforts were going to be in vain. "Maia, don't do anything stupid. Don't lose your cool." He tried to grab her arm, but Maia made a sharp movement with her wand, and the boy's robe was ripped so that the sleeve fell off. Daphne tried to fix it quickly, but they couldn't keep up with the girl.

Maia's face was so impenetrable that none of the Slytherins could decipher it. They didn't know if she was worried, if she was furious, if she was sad about what had happened, or if she was planning the death of someone in her head. They simply stayed by her side, trying to keep the girl from doing anything she might regret at any other time.

From the girl's route, Eden guessed that she was heading to the Hospital Wing. With a worried face —he had started to like the Weasley, she was the only person who could keep Maia calm— the boy shook his head when Daphne started to open her mouth when they reached their destination. Maia tried to open the door, but it was closed. It was already dark, so she supposed that Madam Pomfrey would have bewitched it so that no student would disturb the rest of others.

"Let me." Eden said, pushing her aside. "Don't hurt yourself." Eden tried to conjure it, but when it didn't even open with magic, he decided to use strength and push it with her shoulder. When it opened, the boy rubbed his skin but let Maia through. "M'lady."

Daphne gave him a small smile —she didn't want Maia to think she underestimated the importance of the matter— and tapped him gently on the arm.

"You can't be here!" Screeched Madam Pomfrey.

But Maia ignored her. Her intuition, once again, hadn't failed her: Longbottom complained of pain in the ribs and in one of his legs, and his face was purple and a large cut that crossed his cheek. Anger began to truly travel through Malfoy's veins when she checked on Ginny's condition: she had a bandage on her forearm, torn and bloody clothing, and a permanently whimpering expression on her face.

"What happened?" Maia's tone was calm, quiet, but inside of her there was a raging fire. Nobody answered, the tension evident. "I said WHAT happened." She shouted this time.

Even Daphne stepped back a little at the girl's tone of voice. Madam Pomfrey could see the fury in the girl's gray eyes, which even seemed to have darkened. "Professor McGonagall brought them here. Said there were screams and shouts on the corridors, and found them both with the Carrows."

Maia wasn't satisfied with the answer, so she took the nearest stool and placed it in the middle of Neville and Ginny's beds. "Why is it always you two?" She whispered. "Neville, tell me what happened."

The boy coughed. "Ginny and I were going to the Great Hall, but stopped when overheard the Carrows saying something about Luna. They caught us looking and we confronted them —we didn't have a choice, they knew we were eavesdropping— and they said they had her. I was furious and attacked them, but obviously didn't mean anything to them. But Ginny... She didn't hold back. She fought back and she wasn't supposed to. When they found out what she was trying, they tortured her."

Maia clenched her jaw. She tried to expose a softer face when she turned to the young girl. "How are you, Gin? Need anything?"

"A kiss would be lovely." The girl muttered with a small voice. Maia complied, kissing the younger girl's lips gently. Something inside her stirred when she tasted the blood. "I'm better already."

"I'll come back in a while, okay?" Maia caressed her hair and Ginny frowned slightly.

"Where are you going?" Said Eden grabbing her attention.

Maia went to the exit and without turning she confessed: "To burn this damn castle down." She pulled out the wand and added, "And don't fucking lock the door next time!"

The Slytherin tried to get the girl's attention again, but again to no avail. "Don't do anything you'll regret later."

Maia pushed him against the wall and gave him a withering look, her voice small and hurt. "They almost killed her. She can barely talk. She's there because she fought with spells I taught her, so yeah, probably I'm doing something I'll regret, but they won't touch her ever again."

"I get it, but you can't expect to get revenge and then continue your life as if nothing's happened. They will take this into account."

However, the girl wasn't in the mood to listen to Eden's recommendations. Her gi—Ginny had ended up in the Hospital Wing badly injured by the two Death Eaters and wasn't going to sit idly by when she could end their miserable existence right then and there. Anger built up inside her, and while one part of her said she could screw up in a terrible way, the other thought only of the image of the bloody redhead and then that feeling of revenge reappeared and blinded her.

Daphne followed, still not quite sure what was about to happen, but she felt her friend's pain. What the hell, now that she had been disinherited she had every right to rebel —if she was going to do it, she had to do it right.

When Maia passed through the doors of the Great Hall, hell broke loose. Some professors gave her a curious look, wondering why she was advancing towards their table and not Slytherin's. Maia raised her wand and yelled, "Bombarda!"

The candles on the chandeliers were blown out in the rising wind, and the lamps wobbled from the force of the spell. The students screamed, thinking they were facing a new attack, and even some teachers put their hands to their heads. The cutlery shot out toward the windows, the glass of which had already been smashed by the explosion Maia had caused. From their respective tables all the students watched.

"What do you think you're doing?" Amycus screamed and addressed her quickly. "You're making a serious mistake, Malfoy."

Maia brought the wand to the man's neck, and didn't hesitate in the same way that had happened to Neville. "What, are you going to threaten me, too?" She stuck the wand deeper into his neck, and the teachers gasped. "You've spilled pure blood, you idiot. You almost killed them, pure bloods. The Dark Lord will be disgusted when he hears this."

Shouts were exchanging between the two, so the students began to scream again and whisper when Maia named Voldemort. Amycus looked at her and laughed out loud. "Who do you think you are, you brat? You're nothing compared to us. You're going to pay for this."

McGonagall cast a spell on him when she felt the Death Eater was going to attack the girl. Amycus gasped, and Alecto got up from the seat, alarmed. "Don't do this. There are kids."

But neither of them listened to her. Amycus, too embarrassed and humiliated by Maia's outburst, and Maia, too eager for revenge and for the Death Eater to pay for what he had done to Ginny.

"Cofringo." Shouted Maia. However, she didn't hit the target, who had disappeared to appear behind her. "Protego!" She and Minerva McGonagall said at the same time. A large blue dome surrounded Maia's body and the Carrow's spell rebounded, hitting him and causing him to pass out.

"I will not tolerate this behavior. Alecto, escort your brother to his dormitory. And everyone else, to your rooms!"

The students slowly rose from their seats and left the Great Hall with millions of unsolved questions. Alecto took Amycus by the arm and, looking back at Maia, disappeared. When Maia realized what she had caused it was already too late. McGonagall was approaching her, just as Eden and Daphne did —pleasantly surprised by the debate, must they add.

"What was that, Miss Malfoy?" Her voice trembled, and Maia felt bad. "You could've at least warned me, I wanted to kick his ass, too."

"I'm sorry, professor." Maia's heart felt less heavy now, given the reaction of the Transfigurations teacher.

"I'm guessing it's because of what happened earlier with Longbottom and Weasley." McGonagall nodded to herself. "You're brave. I only know of a person who's ever stood up to his family like that."

"Sirius Black." Muttered Maia. "It seems like it runs on the Black genes."

"Do what you have to do. We will take care of this."

Maia apologized once again, but the truth was she felt much better. The satisfaction that had filled her at the sight of Carrow's frightened face had been more than enough to quell her fury. She thought she wished she could have filmed that scene to show Ginny, surely it would have cheered her up.

"That was badass, actually." Eden was the one to break the silence. "You will be in trouble, though."

"What I said it's true. The Dark Lord doesn't want to spill any more pure blood, no matter whose is it. He will be furious if he finds out. So the Carrows owe me if they don't want to end up dead."

Eden nodded slowly, sharing a glance with Daphne. "We're with you. If they try something with you, we'll be there." The Greengrass promised with a small smile. "Go with her. She will need company."

Maia felt a burning in her throat just thinking again about the image of the redhead waiting for her. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, and I'm sorry for what I did to you, Eden, but I couldn't help it. I'll try to behave from now."

"You're Maia Malfoy, you wouldn't be you if you didn't act like this. That's why I love you." Eden gave her a brief hug and left with Daphne.

It was late, but not too much for Ginny to be already asleep. She didn't know why, but when she thought of her lying on the stretcher and badly hurt, she remembered the meeting in the Burrow. What would her parents think of her if they found out that their only daughter was being treated that way and she —who had risked everything to help her— hadn't been available to protect her?

She arrived and, luckily, the door wasn't locked, not even closed, as it seemed that Madam Pomfrey had deliberately left it ajar, waiting for the girl to enter at that time of night. Neville's body was covered with the blanket so that only his dark hair could be seen covering his face. Madam Pomfrey was healing the wounds and every time she touched a cut, Ginny hissed in pain. However, when she saw Maia leaning against the threshold of the door, her face changed completely.

"Hey there, stranger." Ginny said.

Maia couldn't help the smile that formed on her lips. "Looking good, I see."

"Oh, my god. I hate you. I look hideous, don't I?"

"You look as beautiful as ever." Maia approached her and glanced briefly at Madam Pomfrey, who seemed to be finishing her task of healing the girl. "How are you doing? Don't lie."

The nurse excused herself and Ginny sighed a thank you. "I've been better, really. But it will heal, right? I was just so furious... I couldn't hold back. I guess we're not that different." Ginny tried to excuse herself.

Maia saw that her sweater was torn and that the cuts that were visible had left scars, she even had cuts on her cheeks. Maia gently ran her fingertips over her skin. "We're not. We're both stubborn and reckless. What did he use on you? Sectumsempra? " Ginny nodded, and Maia clenched her fists. "Merlin, I should have ended him."

"What have you done?"

"I said I would burn the damn castle down, and believe me, I would've if I could, but McGonagall stopped me before I could even curse his ass. If you see the Great Hall a bit different, then that was me."

Ginny laughed a little but stopped dead when she realized what pain it was causing her. "You shouldn't have done that. Now you're fully exposed —fighting the Carrows, that's not very dark-side like."

Maia stroked the redhead's hair, who sighed contently. "I told you once, and I'm telling you again: I don't care. They hurt you, then they'll pay for it." Maia looked at Ginny's body.

"Is it bad?" The redhead asked, her voice small.

"My brother suffered from this hex, too —thanks to Potter— and he has scars all over his body. Maybe you'll have them, too. Don't worry, you won't even notice they're there." Maia tried to dissuade Ginny smiling at her.

Maia felt bad. Ginny's eyes were tired, the freckles on her cheeks almost covered by the small cuts she had scattered across her face. She squeezed her hand and gently stroked her cheeks.

"You will be alright soon." Maia looked at the clock and groaned. "Now my surprise is ruined, fucking Carrows."

"What are you talking about?"

Maia smiled. "Come on, don't play dumb. You've been rambling about this all week. Truth is, I didn't know this muggle tradition. I've never had a valentine, and wasn't expecting to, because no pure blood believes in muggle festivities. But I thought I'd give it a try, you seemed excited." Maia pulled out her wand. "I was thinking about doing this in a more private place, but there's no option, so I'll show you now."

The Slytherin closed her eyes for a moment. Inevitably her mind led her to dozens of memories she'd created with Ginny —her brain knew no happier memory than all the times she'd spent with the redhead, and she didn't know how to feel about it— but she paid attention to one especially: when she had confessed her feelings and Ginny had reciprocated them.

"Expecto patronum." she whispered, and it seemed like her heart was going to leap out of her chest.

Ginny watched with pride as the tip of Maia's wand glowed a whitish hue and a figure formed in front of them. Maia stopped paying attention to what was going to be her patronus and fixed her gaze on Ginny's face, who froze.

"Is that a...?"

"It is. I was practicing the other day because I wanted to show you I was capable of casting one, but I didn't even know what animal it'd be turning into. What I'm trying to say with this, is that I'm thankful for you and everything you'd made me feel. You make the impossible, possible. I've never thought I could cast a patronus, and here it is." the animal ran around them, trapped. "A horse."

"I don't know what to say, Maia. This is amazing."

"Happy valentine? Is that how it's said?"

Ginny grinned and gestured for Maia to come closer. She cupped her face and kissed her deeply. "You're cute."

"Cute? I've been told other things, but 'cute'..."

"Oh, is that so? What have you been told?" Ginny raised a brow.

"My lips can cure. Want to see?" Maia didn't wait for Ginny to answer, but covered the redhead's face with short kisses and the redhead laughed happily.

"You're tickling me!" Ginny put her hand in Maia's face and the latter grinned. "Who told you that?"

"You obviously, when tomorrow you feel better."

Ginny looked at her lovingly. "I love you. I swear, you keep me sane. You keep my head on the clouds but my feet on the ground."

Maia's lips ached so much that she was smiling lately. "Get some rest. I'll be here when you wake up."