"come on, let me get to know you
just another chance so that i can show
that i won't let you down and run"

FEBRUARY 24TH, 1995

When Albus Dumbledore called her to come to his office, that was what she least expected. He had a small smile on his face, almost hidden by his long beard, and colored candies in his hand—or, at least, that's what Maia thought.

"I have called you because I have a favor to ask you, Miss Malfoy. As you know, the second round of the Tournament is taking place this afternoon," Maia nodded as the director spoke. "I cannot tell you what it will be about, but I ask for your collaboration and your consent to participate in it."

Maia frowned at him. "But, professor, I have not been selected. I can't participate."

"You will not participate, do not worry. And don't fear for your life, everything is under control. I can only tell you that, before you, I called Gabrielle Delacour, but it didn't seem entirely appropriate, given her age. However, I beg you to participate in this test, as the rapid connection you have had with young Fleur Delacour has been notable. So can I count on your help?"

Maia opened her mouth, but no words came from it. How did he know she knew Fleur well? Had someone seen them? Her heart raced, but she didn't want Dumbledore to notice how her pulse quickened, so she said yes with her head. The director smiled at her, offered her the sweets in his hand.

The blonde obeyed, still a little stunned, and swallowed them. After that, besides Dumbledore raising his wand at head height, she remembered little.

The next thing she remembered was reemerging to the surface of the Black Lake, opening her mouth for air, feeling she was choking. All of her clothes were wet and clinging to her skin, dragging her to the bottom, but when she opened her eyes she saw that Ronald Weasley had her by the waist and was swimming towards the dock with her in his arms. Instead of reproaching him for anything, she took the time to catch up on the lost air and wonder what had just happened.

Fleur Delacour and other girls from Beauxbatons quickly approached her when the Gryffindor picked her up. The Frenchwoman passed a towel over her body, and while Maia coughed and shuddered with cold, she snuggled her against her own chest. Maia felt comforted but terribly watched, and she ignored the other students' words or Fleur's caresses in her hair.

Maia was deeply confused. She didn't know what had just happened, or why Weasley had dragged her to the surface, or why Cho Chang and Hermione Granger, by her side, were also sheltering from the cold with blankets.

"Zank Meglin you'g algight." Fleur whispered against her hair. "Ze second task involved people close to us, and Dumbledog chose you fog me." Maia blushed slightly, but the contrast of her skin and blush was noticeable. "I couldn't save you, ze cgiatuges inside ze wateg wouldn't let me and my chagm wogn out. I'm soggy, Maia."

With Fleur's explanation, Malfoy assumed that Cho was the one chosen for Cedric, and Granger for Viktor Krum, with whom she had gone to the Yule Ball. At that very moment she was aware that being chosen for Fleur was a sign that everyone there knew they were close, and she was nervous.

"It's okay, Fleur. I'm okay, see?" Maia tried to get up, but had to push her way through all the people around her. She offered Fleur her hand to get up, and Fleur walked to where Potter and Weasley were.

"'Arry, you saved Maia's life. I do not foget."

Harry nodded quickly, as if he was nervous. Maia looked at both boys from behind Fleur's position, and nodded at them. The two boys replied with the same gesture. Maia thought it was that moment that made her contempt for the two boys diminish considerably.

Fleur took her hand and dragged her into the castle, out of everyone's eyes.

TODAY

"Noted. Let me know if you need anything else." Maia said.

Fucking great, was the answer she really wanted to give. Beside her, Zabini remained impassive. Alecto and Amycus dispatched them seconds later. As soon as they left the office, Maia put her hands to her temple.

The headaches didn't respect her lately. There seemed to be another living heart in her head, pulsing, not letting her think clearly or making her more irascible. This time she didn't feel like she should shut her mind, it was just a migraine that had been attacking her for years, but that day they were getting worse at times.

Blaise Zabini looked at her, considering whether he should ask her what was wrong or should he give her her space. He chose to do the latter, waiting a few steps in front of her, like someone waiting for a friend who stops to tie their shoelaces.

Maia knew he was not a boy of many words, and to tell the truth, most of the time —like that precise moment— she was grateful. He didn't bother doing small talk, didn't even pretend that he was interested in the lives of others. He just minded his business, and that was just what Maia needed.

The Carrows had reassigned her a night round, almost as if they had continued to punish her since the incident of the first few days locked up there. She knew that she must gain the trust of the Death Eaters if she wanted to go unnoticed, so she followed orders that in other circumstances she wouldn't have considered doing.

The boy, next to her, illuminated the path with his own lantern, still a few meters ahead of her. Maia was tired, and the headache didn't accompany the situation; all she wanted was to get into bed, the next day would be a new day. Yet there she was, walking the halls of Hogwarts without a word.

Her heart was anxious. It was close to midnight, and she knew that DA meetings used to happen at that hour. Every time she and Zabini turned a corner, her heart sped up a little in case they saw all those people trying to escape to their common rooms. But she couldn't lie to herself. She told herself that she didn't want the Carrows to harm so many people, but what really mattered was the well-being of Ginny Weasley.

Every time she remembered the redhead's reaction to her words the last time they were in the Room of Requirement, she accepted that to her heart was not just friendship. She cursed herself for letting this happen to her, for approaching her the first time and for not knowing how to stop when she still could. Now she just had to make sure nothing happened to her, because things had changed, and she knew she couldn't bear to see the Gryffindor being tortured by the Carrows.

She feared she had been thinking aloud when Blaise turned to her, the glow of the flame lighting up her dark eyes and her marked cheekbones. The boy offered her an almost imperceptible smile.

"Still no talking to Draco?" Maia swallowed hard.

"Did he tell you something?"

Blaise denied. "I didn't ask. He's a private person, I know he doesn't like to share much. Not with someone who's not you, at least. I just observe. You're not around when he is, and when you are, he's usually with Pansy. So I realized."

"You two are friends, right? Draco and you." Maia said, getting down to his level and walking beside him.

Blaise shrugged. "I suppose."

"Is he alright? He's avoiding me, so I don't really know much about him these days."

"Something's always off with Draco, Maia. Since he became a Death Eater. He carries a lot of weight on his shoulders and has no one to really vent to. I don't know if he'll ever be able to heal from this. That thing will always be tattoed in his forearm."

Maia nodded, her breath faltering. She missed terribly her brother, seeing him every day at breakfast, their knowing looks during classes, their conversations, their inside jokes, all their memories. She hated to think that Draco was suffering and that she was doing nothing to remedy it. She hoped that wherever Potter was, he would have made more progress than she did.

They walked a little more, in silence. Maia's mind traveled everywhere: to Draco, to Eden, to the youngest of the Weasleys, but, above all, to the fact that in a short time she would be in the Manor, and that Bellatrix, her parents, expected her to have than to bear Voldemort's presence again. Damn, Potter, hurry up.

"What's that?" Blaise said suddenly.

His lantern pointed down the corridor. A light faded at the end, but Maia had seen it as well as Blaise, who started walking towards it. Despite not needing it, Maia reached for the wand and drew it out, muttering a lumos. Upon reaching the place where they had seen the light, the Slytherins looked at each other when they heard footsteps. Maia turned, and a dark-haired boy was running towards the nearest stairs.

"Petrificus totalus!" Maia uttered. The boy froze and fell to the ground. Then the girl turned to Blaise. "If he was here with someone, then they must have seen this. I can take it from here, Blaise."

"You sure?"

Yeah, no worries. See you tomorrow."

Zabini gave her one last grimace that was intended to be a smile and passed her the lantern. Maia waited for him to disappear from her sight to address the boy she had paralyzed. The truth was, she didn't even know who he was, but it was obvious where he came from late at night. She stared at him from above, and bent down.

"You think you're sneeky, don't you? For fuck's sake. I'm going to undo the spell, and you're taking me right where you were five minutes ago. Got it?" After a finite incantatem, the boy was able to quickly nod, and Maia made out a cut on his cheek. "Stupid kid."

She grabbed his hair and lifted him off the ground. She still didn't recognize the boy's face, but she didn't care in the least. She thrust the wand into his back threateningly, knowing that the boy would do nothing to disturb her or would suffer the consequences.

They soon reached the hall of the Room of Requirement. She let the boy walk past three times, impatient for the door to appear in front of them. Finally the same door from the last time appeared, and she grabbed the boy by the collar of the sweater and entered the room.

There was silence when they saw their mate Michael Corner accompanied by Maia Malfoy. The Slytherin identified many Gryffindors, the occasional Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs, and no Slytherins. Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Seamus Finnigan and others whose names she didn't recognize looked at her.

"What the fuck is this?" Maia screamed, and the echo accompanied her for a few seconds. Around her there were not only training figures, not even just a couple of people gathered, but she saw beds, hammocks, chairs, armchairs and any other type of seats. Many of them wore bandages, scratches to their faces, dark circles under their eyes, dirt on their cheeks and on their cloaks.

Neville Longbottom moved a little closer, limping. "That's what we should be asking. What are you doing here?" His voice barely trembled, and Maia was surprised.

Maia shoved Michael Corner —she knew his name now, since some had whispered it when they had seen them enter— in front of Longbottom, who looked at him, then looked at her. "I'm the guard for the Carrows tonight, and I found this idiot trying to run away. It took me nothing to convince him to show me the place he was running from. So —I recommend you to make sure the ones standing on your side are not going to betray you."

Longbottom looked around, and spoke aloud the words everyone wanted to hear. "Are you going to tell?"

"Everybody knows the DA's back. You haven't been exactly subtle with your messages." She looked at Ginny at last with a look that the redhead couldn't decipher.

"That's not what he meant." Another voice joined the conversation, this time a female voice, pretending to sound brave, but her weak appearance and stained clothes did not give that appearance.

Maia shook her head. "I'm not. Everybody go to your rooms, you'll be safer there. The Carrows won't know your passwords, and definitely won't guess the Ravenclaw riddle. They're asleep, and I'm the only one watching the castle tonight." She partly lied. The students' faces lit up, wishing they could finally lie down on a real bed. "Come on. Try not to make noise. You can return here tomorrow."

She turned away from the door and let the vast majority out. Some lagged a little behind, still not fully trusting Malfoy's words, for which they were not really to blame. When Luna passed her, she put her hand on her arm and squeezed a little, smiling. Longbottom nodded at her, and heard him offer to escort Luna to her common room despite several more Ravenclaws.

Ginny was the last one left in the room. She glanced at her and pointed at the door, tired. Ginny repeatedly shook her head and blinked back her tears. Maia frowned and approached her.

"What's wrong? I just said I'm not going to—"

"I can't go back to the common room. Everything's fine when it's daylight, but when night comes, I can't sleep. My roommates were muggleborn and they haven't come back to Hogwarts, so I have to sleep alone —and I simply can't. My mind's been tricking me all this time, thinking that when I wake up, someone's going to be there to hurt me." Ginny paced back and forth, not looking at Maia. "We've been sleeping here for days, and it's made me feel safer than ever."

"You can't stay here alone." Maia whispered, approaching her. "It might not be me the next time."

"I know. Thank you. It's like you're always there, looking out for us. But you risk everything, and that's not right. What if they hit you again, or torture you because they find out? You'd be a... traitor." Ginny looked at her, her heart pounding.

"They can't touch me, Ginny. Not anymore. Trust me." Maia smiled lightly at her.

"Why? Why are you so untouchable?"

"It's a long story. But mainly because I'm a Malfoy. My family has been tied to the dark side since ever. They won't hurt me because I'm one of them, do you understand? I'm yet to mark. They don't hurt one of them."

Ginny sat on one of the beds with her face in her hands. She tossed her hair back in exasperation. Feelings swirled in her heart, and arguments in her head, and, once again, she didn't know which part to listen to. She had befriended a —almost— Death Eater, but her heart knew there was much more. It had made her rethink so many things, it occupied her mind most of the time and she was glad every time the blonde appeared.

But she was a Malfoy, and a Slytherin. And when the war came, she would choose her family: who wouldn't? Ginny felt stupid; how was she going to convince her to join her if her entire family fought on the other side? She didn't expect to ask her to give up everything she knew for... her. A Weasley, a blood traitor, everything the Malfoys hated. But there was Maia, caring for her, giving her a sad look as Ginny's shoulders began to shake.

"What's wrong?"

Ginny uncovered her face, and a stream of tears ran down her cheeks, her eyes red. "Everything's wrong! People are being tortured, murdered, and I'm stuck here! A bunch of Death Eaters have been terrifying children, punishing everyone, and I can't do anything about it. And— and you're here! You're not supposed to be doing this, you're supposed to be cold, and careless, and you're supposed to not give a fuck about us! But you're so confusing, I swear, you've never been around, and now suddenly you act like you don't hate me, like you actually care, and I can't figure out why you being here makes me feel like everything's going to be fine. You make me feel like I miss something I've never even had."

Maia could have sworn her heart was stopping right then and there. She knelt down and caught up with the redhead, who avoided looking her in the eye.

"I'm sorry. I tried to make things better this year, but seems like I ruined everything for you. I didn't mean to, but I ended up caring a bit too much, too. You're the only person I've let see myself besides my brother and my best friend. And I don't care if you're a blood traitor, or you're a Gryffindor, I don't care, because you let me be myself. And you're right, we're everything the other is supposed to hate, but I don't hate you. I care, Ginny."

"You do?" The redhead asked, her heart fluttering. She could confirm to herself she'd never felt that way with Harry, or Dean, much less Michael.

"I do. And I want to be on your side, really, but I can't leave my brother behind. That's why I'm doing everything I can so there are no sides." Maia felt tenderness at the Weasley's confused gesture. "If I tell you this, you have to promise me not to tell anyone. Not even Longbottom, or Luna."

"I promise."

Maia couldn't believe that she was about to reveal everything. A person she had practically just met! She couldn't believe that all her efforts to hide it from Draco, Eden —whom she had finally ended up telling her story, but not completely either— now went to hell with those wide, warm brown eyes that looked at her with curiosity but also with concern. She couldn't believe she was feeling this way about a Weasley.

"I'm working with Harry—"

"What?"

"Let me finish, please. When my brother got the dark mark, I knew I had to get help or I'd even end up like him. I wanted to protect him, but I failed miserably, so I had to get help from someone who could actually provide me it. So I talked to Dumbledore. I explained everything I was planning to do, I told him everything I knew, because I wanted my brother to be finally free. Dumbledore was the only one I could trust to destroy the Dark Lord, but he died before he even could finish what I started. So he passed his mission to both Harry and I; he said we were the only ones who could carry it out. Do you know where he is now? Potter." Ginny swallowed hard, slowly shaking her head. "I assume he's with your brother and Hermione Granger. Looking for the horcruxes."

"I — I think they mentioned it sometime. I wasn't supposed to hear, but they talked frequently about it so I couldn't not listen. You... You're looking for He-who-must-not-be-named's soul? You and Harry? But, you — your family. They are Death Eaters."

"But they are blinded. Things have gotten out of hand, and I believe they're more fearful than they're loyal to him. I have to set them free, my brother mostly. He's not the one to blame, he's trapped in this. He became a Death Eater to protect his family, because if he failed to do so, he would kill my parents. He doesn't want to hurt no one, but it's the only thing he could do to keep us safe. So I'm doing the same for him. I don't care if they think I'm betraying them if that's what it takes for me to save their lives. I know this seems unbelievable, but I'm doing everything out of love. I want to be finally free, Ginny, and it might seem reckless, but it's the only thing I can do, and I'm not backing out now."

Ginny let out a long breath. "I — I don't know what to say. This is something big. Really, really big, Maia. If he finds out, you're dead."

"And so will be your friends and brother. But it's the only way to get rid of him. And it better be fast, because we're running out of time. The more time passes, the more powerful he'll get."

The redhead got out of bed. "I want to help. How can I?"

"You can't. It's too dangerous, and it could put your family in danger."

"I'm helping whether you like it or not. Now, what are we looking for?"

"Merlin, no!" Maia shouted. Ginny frowned expectantly. "I told you this because I wanted you to see that I trust you, and you should trust me, too, not because I wanted to put you in danger. God, I had to get you out when I saw the Carrows above you three, and you think now I could ever forgive myself if something happened to you because I involved you?"

"You said it yourself. We have to be quick. And two minds think better and faster than one, right? Please, let me in, one last time, if you want it to be. I want this to be over, too."

Maia closed her eyes tightly and clenched her fists. She knew that deep down Ginny was right, and that the more people they were looking for, the sooner they would find whatever they were looking for. It had taken her a long time to confess all this to Eden, and yet here she was, with Ginny, whom she had known for a couple of months, and telling her things that not even she had revealed to her Slytherin best friend.

Malfoy thought there was no point in keeping things from her anymore. She had opened her mouth, and now she had to face the consequences.

"Slytherin's locket, Ravenclaw's diadem or Hufflepuff's cup. That's the three objects we're closer to find than anything else. Please don't let anybody know or see what you do —because I assume you're going to read about them— and if you feel the stupid urge to look for something, at least tell me, and I'll come with. Horcruxes can be very dangerous and they most definitely will trick you." Then Maia sighed. "Now, will you go to your common room? I'll escort you if you need to."

"Stay." Maia looked at her. Ginny Weasley was undoubtedly attractive— she knew she had thought of young Weasley once before —and something about the fire in her gaze drew her to her without turning back. So, flustered, Maia made no further effort to convince the Gryffindor to return to her common room, nor did she hesitate when she took her hand and pulled her toward her.

Ginny was somewhat satisfied. She knew that the Malfoy was stubborn and proud, and that she was capable of having that effect on the Slytherin made her think that, perhaps and only perhaps, she would return the strange feelings she had developed for Maia. Ginny was confident. Something inside her told her that at that moment there were only the two of them, and that everything else did not matter.

"Are you feeling better?" Maia asked, and the Weasley nodded. "Good, 'cause you ugly cry."

Ginny began to feign offense, but stopped trying when she saw the Malfoy dangerously close to her, her hand curled around her waist. The redhead felt herself flush, terribly nervous at the closeness with the other girl. She put some pressure on her waist, but her face was serious and she was staring at her. Ginny swallowed hard: her heart was racing, and her gasping breath hit the Malfoy's lips.

"I'm kidding. You always look beautiful."

And Maia couldn't hold back the urge anymore, so she kissed her. She didn't remember that her heart had sped up as much as that time with Fleur, so she saw it as a good sign. Ginny shuddered in her arms, but it took only seconds to reciprocate the gesture. Her lips moved fast, hard, and in that instant Maia knew that Ginny loved it as much as she did.

Her skin burned. Her heart was going a thousand an hour. Her brain was completely blank. There was nothing around her. She pulled her closer to her if that was possible, and she had to hit objects with her leg to avoid tripping. Her knees gave up upon the chair behind her, and they fell onto the fluffy cushion. At that moment they separated.

Maia's eyes darkened when she opened them and looked at what was before her. Ginny was straddling her lap, her hands still around her neck, and the Malfoy's on her back, trying not to fall. Ginny kissed her again, as if she could never do it again. Maia was surprised at the redhead's gesture, so she moaned slightly against Ginny's lips.

Maia let herself go, forgetting everything for one night, not even knowing how many times their lips had come back together.