𝐓𝐇𝐑𝐄𝐄

" the secret "

✤ ✾ ✤

. . . SEPTEMBER, 1975

THE VERDICT was in by the following Tuesday morning at breakfast.

"Disaster abounds," Elara had declared, swirling tea leaves in the bottom of a mug.

Mimi had snatched it out of her hand. "I wasn't finished drinking that!"

But Maeve thought there might be some truth in Elara's reading. She arrived at her first Care of Magical Creatures lesson only to find an empty classroom. Nothing greeted her but empty desks and Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor House Ghost.

"Ah, you are not the first to wander in here," the ghost told her. "I believe you'll find the rest of your class out on the grounds near the vegetable patch."

"Did Professor Kettleburn ask you to tell his students for him?" Maeve groused. She had barely made it to the door before Peeves the Poltergeist flew into the room, waiting to ambush unsuspecting students with a tray of apples he had taken from the breakfast table. Nick informed him that there was no class in the room today. Upset, Peeves dropped the tray, letting all the apples roll to the floor except one. He used it to pelt Maeve in the back of the head.

"Hey!" she yelped.

"I'd suggest keeping track of your classes next time," Nick said primly. Peeves did a gleeful little jig.

By the time she actually got outside, Professor Kettleburn was already going down the names for attendance. She barely made it in time for Byrne, Maeve. All of the fifth years stood in a large group next to the vegetable patch. At the front, Kettleburn stood next to a large, shaggy haired man who was at least eleven feet tall.

"Where were you?" Avanti asked, crossing her arms.

Maeve was still breathless from sprinting across the grass. "The classroom! Why didn't you say anything?"

"Everyone knows Kettleburn doesn't teach in his classroom anymore," Avanti said simply. She was among the few who took the course for knowledge purposes. Avanti had a deep love for gardening and wanted to understand how to keep her plants safe from various magical pests.

"Welcome to your first Care of Magical Creatures lesson of the term!" Kettleburn said excitedly. He sneezed once, muttered something about Niffler fur, and then continued. "I have asked Rubeus Hagrid, our Gamekeeper, to assist us today with our lesson. As you have already gathered, our class will be most unconventional! Consider it the interesting break in your days of parchment and quills."

The only other person in the class whom she recognized by name was Sam Pryes, the other fifth year Ravenclaw prefect. The rest were a mix of students of which the ratio leaned overwhelmingly Hufflepuff.

Sweat dripped down her back. The sun was high in the September sky, and the heat was almost murderous under her robes. Kettleburn continued on, twisting his bionic hand that was rumored to have been eaten off by a Niffler while he was sleeping.

"Today, we'll be starting simple." He pulled the velvet cloth off of a cage behind him to reveal what looked like a bunch of sleeping hedgehogs. "You will be observing the behavior of Knarls. Record what you notice, their habits and patterns."

And with that incredible depth of direction, he released them all. Maeve shucked off her robe, even though the wool skirt and sweater combination was still murderous against the heat of the day. She and Avanti picked one of the Knarls that was sniffing at the grass on the outskirts of the group and sat down in front of it. A ways away, two of the Gryffindor boys were prodding one of the Knarls with their wands, trying to get it to do a trick.

Maeve sighed, staring at the Knarl as it leaned against her loafers and fell asleep again. She could have been learning Chemistry equations, but instead she was watching a glorified hedgehog have a nap. "You don't do much, do you?"

"I think he's tired," Avanti said, gingerly petting it on the head.

"Is this all we're going to do in this class?" Maeve hissed, keeping her voice down. "Watch animals go to sleep? Even the Knarl is bored, this is ridiculous."

A great voice boomed from above, making Maeve and Avanti jump. "They don' do much until yeh offer 'em a snack. Tha''s when things get interestin'."

Rubeus Hagrid's shadow provided her a brief reprieve from the light of the sun. Maeve had never spoken to the half-giant before, only seen him wandering the grounds. Apparently, he had replaced the former Gamekeeper, Ogg, a few years before Maeve had started at Hogwarts. The rumor was that Hagrid was expelled as a third year, but Dumbledore had argued that he should stay on as an apprentice until Ogg retired.

The three of them watched as one of the Hufflepuffs offered their Knarl a leaf of lettuce. The thing let out a screech and took off down the lawn. Kettleburn gestured for the poor girl to chase after it as part of her observations.

"It'll be looking fer a garden ter tear apart now. They think 's a trap whenever yeh offer 'em summat ter eat," Hagrid told her in his heavy accent.

"My mum was complaining about a hedgehog getting into our garden a few years ago," Avanti said, swiping a hand across her forehead.

Hagrid shook his large head. "She must be a Muggle, tha' was definitely a Knarl. They're terrible pests, cute little buggers."

Maeve looked over at the pumpkin patch and wondered why Kettleburn had decided to hold class so close to something a Knarl could tear to pieces.

"Arn' you friends with James Potter?" Hagrid said suddenly.

Maeve squinted at him, and then realized what he meant. "You're thinking of my twin sister."

"Ah," he said. "So, tha' makes you the troublemakin' Ravenclaw." He let out a deep, rumbling laugh. "Sure yeh didn't mean fer tha all to happen, though," he said quickly when she made a face at him.

"No," Maeve said sourly. "Hopefully, things change for the better this year."

"I'll root fer yeh this term. Jus not when yeh're playing against Gryffindor," he winked.

Maeve stayed late after class and helped Hagrid wrangle all of the Knarls back into their cage. They had started rooting around in the pumpkin patch, which Hagrid seemed very distressed about (those are fer Hallowe'en!).

After their next class of Herbology, Maeve was exhausted. She thumbed through her Care of Magical Creatures book as she headed back up the lawn alone, reading the passage about Knarls and looking at the strange little Bowtruckles they would be studying next class. It all felt very useless; the class was divided into future Magizoologists and troublemakers who wanted an easy O.W.L. Maeve knew which half she had found herself a part of.

As she crossed through the courtyard, she ran into Aoife, who was walking with her arm linked through a boy's. It was Aofie's boyfriend, Sean, a tall, lanky Slytherin with close-cropped dark hair. He waved when he spotted her.

"Taking the easy way out, I see," Aoife grinned at the sight of Maeve's book. Aoife's auburn hair was neatly pinned back with small pearls, a stark contrast to Maeve's knotted brown hair that was tangled with potting soil and sweat.

"I am not," Maeve argued, hating how much she sounded like a little kid. She might as well stomp her foot for good measure.

Aoife took in the sight of her. "You look knackered. Maybe it'll be a good thing to ease up."

"I'm not easing up," Maeve repeated. "I just realized that Muggle Studies was a waste of my time."

"I could have told you that. And I'm sure I did."

"Cheer up, Maeve," Sean told her kindly. "I actually took Magical Creatures because I liked it. Not everyone takes it to slough off."

Sean, Maeve knew, was obsessed with dragons. That summer when he had come to the Byrne's for dinner he had talked for nearly an hour about how he wanted to study dragons for the Ministry.

Aoife placed a hand on her chest. "Sue me if I don't find chasing a bowtruckle through the woods fun. Kettleburn is so busy with his own madness, I don't think he noticed all of those times I hid out by the lake instead of participating."

A chorus of laughter echoed down the hall and Maeve turned around, falling into line with Aoife and Sean. A pale Slytherin boy that Maeve recognized by sight but not name rushed past them. He clutched his books to his chest, shooting a murderous glance over his shoulder. Of course, at the end of the hall stood Sirius, James, and Remus. Peter was shockingly absent.

"Severus Snape," Aoife answered before Maeve even voiced her question aloud. "He's in your year. I don't have a clue what he ever did to warrant it, but James Potter seems particularly fond of terrorizing him. All Severus does is lurk in the corner of the common room reading about potions."

For someone like Maeve, it was much like observing zoo animals behind the glass. The dramatics of the Gryffindors and their mounting disdain for Slytherin left the Ravenclaws and the Hufflepuffs as mere bystanders. Maeve could hardly care less what James Potter was up to. She was far more concerned about what awaited her next.

Quidditch trials.

✤

RAVENCLAW was out for blood.

Normally, their trial turnout was only a handful of people. The mix was normally a curious second years, a stray first year that had been put up for a dare, and then the third through seventh years that had been waiting for a spot to open up. Even with two positions needing filling, Maeve hadn't expected much. However, as she arrived at their team meeting ten minutes early, she was incredibly surprised. Beyond the changing room stood at least fifteen Ravenclaws waiting to try out.

Finn seized her by the arm, looking relieved and remarkably un-captain like. "We have a problem."

Maeve set her things down next to where one of their Chasers, Estella Fawley, sat on the bench. She was a fourth year and the only other girl on the team. "How can there already be a problem?"

"Did you see how many people are out there?" he hissed. "I was only plannin' on three, like!"

Charlie Eastchurch, their other Chaser, was strapping on his gloves. "After last term, I'm not surprised. Revenge is a good motivator."

"They also probably thought both Beater spots would be open," Estella said. "No offense, Maeve, but I think everyone thought you were off the team for good."

"That's ridiculous." Maeve sniffed.

Kian Vu, their seeker, laughed loudly. "You came pretty close. I've never seen Flitwick flip like that."

"Well, I'm here now." Maeve narrowed her eyes. Kian had always irritated her. He was an excellent seeker and unfortunately, he knew it too well. "And I still don't understand what your bloody problem is, Finn."

Charlie, who was clearly bitter about not being made captain, said, "He doesn't have a plan."

"I thought I'd just run 'em through a drill or two and we'd have our pick." Finn paced in front of the empty chalkboard, stressed. "This is a mess."

Maeve peered through the tent flap again. "You're captain, Finn. Act like it."

"I'm tryin'" he whined.

The four of them just stared at him. They had a shot this year and they all knew it. If they found a second Beater and a third Chaser that could hold pace with the rest of them, the Cup was theirs. It was a tall order, but still possible.

Maeve decided that if Finn wasn't going to take charge, she would. She parted the tent flap and stepped through with her Beater bat in hand. Sunlight washed over her and all of the whispers quieted. "Right. Who's here to try out?" They all raised their hands. "Then why the hell are ye' still on the ground? Get in the air!"

There was a mad scramble and a clatter of broomsticks, but in mere moments all sixteen of their potential players were up in the air and gliding over the pitch.

"Jesus, Maeve," Charlie said as he came up next to her. "You don't need to put them through their paces like that."

"Don't you want to win this year?"

He shrugged. "Sure I do."

"I'm not letting Finn ruin our chances," Maeve said harshly. She looked at where he stood, still looking slightly bewildered. "We need good players. They're up there, we just have to figure out who they are."

"And pick the ones that won't get kicked off the team!" Charlie laughed. He was already flying off before she had a chance to retort.

Charlie and Estella took over the half of the group that wanted to play Chaser, and Maeve, Finn, and Kian monitored the Beater half. They started easy before getting out the practice bludgers. After a near-miss that almost sent the lone first year to the hospital wing, Maeve and Kian hovered nearby, ready to step in if something else looked like it was going to end in injury. Maeve had only been hit by a Bludger once in the years she had played Quidditch. It had knocked her clean off her broom and sent her to the Hospital Wing for two whole days. That had been in her second year, and she had been careful not to let it happen again.

As children, Maeve's dad had been obsessed with getting them to play traditional Gaelic sports. The three of them had been part of a league. Aoife had hated it, but Sorcha and Maeve had fallen in love with the sport of Camogie. All of those years of hitting a ball with a wooden stick had prepared them well. Sorcha had become a Beater for Gryffindor, and Maeve had done the same for Ravenclaw.

A potential Chaser sped by, and Maeve's lips parted in surprise.

"Who's that?" Kian asked, pointing.

"William Reed," Maeve said dreamily, staring at him with slight awe. He was a sixth year, and had long been popular with all of the girls in the school. His wavy blond hair ruffled in the breeze as he zipped by with a quaffle tucked under his arm.

He had tried out before and narrowly lost the spot to Estella. He had been good then, but he was wicked quick now. He must have spent the years he hadn't been on the team practicing and waiting for his chance. As they watched, the quaffle flew from his hands and through the goalpost.

"William Reed," Kian parrotted with a dramatic sigh, clasping his hands together and singing, "Oh William Reed, won't you please marry me?" Maeve socked him in the arm, hard enough that he drifted a few feet away from where they hung in the air. "Ouch!"

The crack of a Beater bat drew her attention back. A second year had hit the Bludger clear across the pitch with deadly accuracy. Finn had to fly out of the way to get away from its path.

"He's my pick for Beater," Maeve decided.

"Him? He's a waif!" Kian cried. "If the wind's too strong he'll blow away."

"Don't be such a dryshite," Maeve told him. "I think he'll be grand."

His name turned out to be Edmund Bradley. He was quiet, but the longer Maeve watched him the more she knew his skillset was what they needed. Confidence could be taught.

And it seemed that Finn had selected their new Chaser. As they all touched back down on the ground, Estella and Charlie were already talking animatedly with William Reed.

"Results will be posted in the common room tomorrow morning!" Finn shouted as the Ravenclaws shuffled off. Several of them looked back at William, annoyed. Maeve beamed. She didn't even need Elara and her tea leaves to know it was true.

The Ravenclaw Quidditch team was going to win this term.

✤

MAEVE awoke to the face of Madam Pince, which was enough to make her wonder if the bleary scene of the library at night was only a terrible dream.

"I'm quite sure there is another place for you to nap that isn't on this table!" the woman told her sternly, poking at her arm with her wand as if she were a piece of moldy bread. "The library is closed for the evening."

"What time is it?" Maeve asked. Her mouth tasted terrible and her tongue was dry as sand. Pages of her Transfiguration essay were stuck to her forehead. She peeled them off, yawning.

"It is nearly nine, Miss Byrne. Do not make me ask you to leave again." And with that, the woman swished away, shooting one last warning glare back behind her.

Maeve yawned and slowly packed away her things. First the Muggle chemistry book, then a book on mathematics, and then one titled Entrance Exams for Dummies that her dad had sent her. After she had tucked her quills, ink, and Transfiguration notes into her satchel, it was full to bursting.

Everything felt funny and her arms were like rubber. Last night she had also fallen asleep studying in the Ravenclaw common room only to be awoken by a very concerned Elara as the sun began to peek into the tower. It was difficult to remember the last time she had a full night of sleep in her own bed.

"It's hardly been two weeks, and you're already developing terrible sleeping habits!" Elara had said to her as she shoved her off the plush satin fabric of the couch.

Her pace was leisurely as she strolled down the halls. All was quiet, and the full harvest moon glowed brightly through the towering windows. Exhaustion had numbed her caution and she could hardly care about getting caught by Filch. A distant voice in her mind was yelling about detention and missing Quidditch and something about a plan, but she could care less. Her mind swam aimlessly between chemistry equations and the ingredients for wit-sharpening potions. The words cut ginger root rolled through her thoughts to the tune of 'Molly Malone'.

The quiet was cut through when she reached the courtyard and she heard the swift cadence of a pair of feet running around the corner. Maeve didn't move out of the way. She paused in the middle of the yard, yawned again, and watched blearily as Sirius Black came into view.

"Byrne?" he said, surprised to see her and out of breath. Maeve squinted and reassessed. No, he wasn't surprised to see her. He was scared of being caught. "You shouldn't be out here."

"And why is that?" Another pair of feet scuttled to a stop. Strangely, there was no one else to be seen.

"Because," Sirius said indignantly. "It's late, Filch is probably out making the rounds. In fact, I think I just saw him coming up from the dungeons."

"Then what are you doing out here?" Maeve asked, but she was too tired to make much of a fuss. Sirius was always up to something, running off with James or chasing around pretty girls.

He glanced briefly up at the moon. Grabbing her gently by both arms, he tried to usher her off on her way. "Nothing. But I have to go."

"Good luck with Remus," Maeve said through another yawn as he began to step away from her.

He stopped dead in his tracks. "What do you mean good luck with Remus?"

Pointing skyward. "Because it's the full moon and he's a were–oh." Maeve clapped her hand over her mouth, realizing her mistake too late. She had sworn she would never say anything and all it had taken was sleep deprivation to loosen her tongue. Suddenly, she felt wide awake again.

From the empty space next to her, the voice of James Potter asked, "How the hell did you figure it out?"

Maeve gasped, dropping her bag on the ground and sending a left hook into the air. As if she could punch a poltergeist. But when her fist met something warm instead of just the air, she screamed.

"Shhh!" Sirius hissed furtively, pressing a hand over her mouth. "You'll get us all caught."

She slapped his hand away. As she did, the air began to shimmer and James Potter and Peter Pettigrew appeared before her. James was holding a ball of silvery fabric in his hands. A Cloak of Invisibility, which explained a great deal of things to her at once.

"How do you know that Remus–" James began to ask again.

Sirius held out a hand to stop him. "–is not a werewolf. I don't know where you ever got such an idea."

A long, lamenting howl echoed in the near distance. Maeve held Sirius's gaze, daring him to argue. Peter let out an anxious cough.

"How long have you known?" Sirius finally asked, throwing out his hands in defeat.

"Since third year."

"What?"

It had been a mistake, really.

It was a late night in third year, right after the first snow. A group of them were studying in the common room, and Mimi had sworn she saw mermaids basking on the shore of the Black Lake, which could be seen from one of the windows of Ravenclaw tower. Finn hadn't believed her. The whole exchange ended with a dare: go all the way to the Black Lake and back without getting caught by Filch. It was a dare that Maeve had immediately accepted.

A full moon had hung high in the cold air. Halfway between the castle walls and the icy waters, howling began to echo in the distance. Footsteps were crunching through the snow. Maeve hid in some overgrown shrubbery and prayed her footprints wouldn't be seen. Sirius, James, and Peter had hurried past, oblivious. By the time she returned to Ravenclaw tower, Finn and everyone else had already gone off to bed.

It was just as well; Maeve had a far bigger mystery on her hands than basking mermaids.

The next day when Remus wasn't in Charms, James and Sirius were oddly quiet. Maeve grew suspicious and all too curious. A month later, under another full moon, she stayed awake and watched the grounds through a pair of binoculars. After an hour, she saw the tiny figure of Remus Lupin being ushered towards the Shrieking Shack by Madame Pomfrey. Her suspicion had been proven.

Lycanthropy was taboo. There was no cure or remedy for the condition, nothing to even lessen the effects. Maeve remembered falling asleep at night to her ma's stories of werewolves running wild in the Black Forest of Germany. Out there, they were free. Dangerous, but unburdened. But those who lived a double life were less fortunate, and Remus Lupin was one of them.

For every month after that when she heard the howling echo under the full moon, she swore she would never say a word. Not even to Elara. Each time she saw Remus with those miscellaneous scars she wondered how horrible it must be to live with the weight of such a secret. All it would take was someone malicious finding out, and then the game would be up. The Pure-blood families would never stand for a werewolf attending Hogwarts with their precious children.

"Look," Maeve reasoned. "I haven't told anyone in two years. You don't need to worry about me." She glanced over your shoulder as another howl echoed. "What exactly do you three get up to, anyway? It isn't like you can help him."

"We monitor him," Sirius defended. Maeve had never seen him so upset. "Wait until he's no longer bloodthirsty and help him back inside without anyone seeing. You–you have no right."

"To be curious?" she snapped. "I would never betray his secret."

"Sirius–" James began, eager to be on their way.

"How am I supposed to believe that?" Sirius scoffed. "You've been at Sorcha's throat for years, and she's your twin sister. Who's to say you wouldn't tell everyone about Remus for another laugh at the Gryffindors?"

"Sirius," James begged. Peter had yet to do anything but looked nearly on the edge of stressful tears.

"I've been at her throat?" Maeve let out a terrifying laugh and James took a step back. "My sister humiliated me in front of the entire school. I'm still on probation for what she did. Remus has never even done anything to warrant retaliation."

"But if he did?"

"He wouldn't."

"He could. Your patience is about as thin as a twig."

"And would you like to test it?" Maeve threatened. They were both in each other's faces and nearly shouting.

"Sirius! Please!" James grabbed Sirius by the arm. "She isn't going to say anything. Now, let's go."

Maeve continued to drill her gaze through Sirius's head until he finally turned around and followed after James and Peter. No relief coursed through her even after she made it safely back to the common room and collapsed on the plush sofa. James might have been quick to let her go, but Sirius's loyalty to his friends knew no bounds.

There was more to this than Sirius even knew. And now Maeve had managed to make a mess of things, yet again.

✤ ✾ ✤

a/n if you can't tell already, a big big premise of this fic is exploring 'house politics' at Hogwarts from the perspective of the average student. I know a lot of people talk about this, but putting impressionable children in a villainized house creates, you guessed it, more villains! Obv the post-first wizarding war era created far more prejudice against Slytherin in the books than I imagine there was during the Marauders Era, but those books are also from the POV of a Gryffindor. I could talk about this all day, but our open-minded Ravenclaw girlie will be telling you what is up!

In case you missed it, I've started posting this fic on Archive if that's something you frequent! My user is the same on there (romanovana). I'm going to keep cross-updating on here and there at around the same time.  So far, only Rose Blood is up, but I will likely be migrating my other stories as well just for fun.  I'm finding it far less stressful to post there because at this point I don't really have many active readers on wp anymore as I become less relevant as an author lol. I was given the advice to start posting on there instead of wp a very long time ago and I'm here to say it's a much better place for writing for writing's sake : )

anyway!  off my soap box now.   I hope you guys are enjoying the story and as always thank you for reading!