"stop and wait a sec
oh, when you look at me like that, my darling
what did you expect?"

"Harry Potter."

With that whisper penetrating in the back of her mind, Maia felt herself faint. It was an even stranger sensation than practicing Legilimency —those invisible hands that played with your brain like a puppet were some of the worst sensations anyone could ever know—, a sensation that Maia had never experienced but for some reason it seemed too familiar to her.

She felt her body fall into a deep black hole that had no end. Her mind was traveling at the speed of light, but the girl knew neither why nor how. Suddenly, everything stopped. She looked at her hands only to discover, anguished, that she couldn't see them. Neither her legs, nor her feet; as if it had been only her mind that had moved from one place to another.

She didn't know how to recognize where she was; it was a forest, she was sure of that, but she hadn't visited it before. She didn't recognize that almost frozen lake in the esplanade, nor the number of trees that rose to the sky, nor the tent from which at that very moment a boy with disheveled hair and a black sweater emerged.

"Harry Potter," There was the whisper again.

With a racing heart she realized that it was she who had whispered. That wasn't her voice, but she had felt the words come out of her. What was happening?

"Who's there?" The boy wanted to know, wand in hand. He moved from side to side, anxious, as if waiting for his opponent to come from anywhere. "Show yourself."

The Slytherin approached him. Harry gasped as if he had noticed a presence. "Potter." Maia said this time consciously. "Can't you see me?"

Harry frowned. "Maia? Is that you?"

"It's me. I don't know what the hell is happening but I don't think we got a lot of time," Maia's voice was barely heard in a whisper. The Gryffindor stared at where the voice came from and Maia felt uncovered.

"Wait, I can see you now. But you're not here. You're at Hogwarts. You're in your room, I think. Asleep," Harry interrupted. Then he stammered. "How... How is this happening? How have you found me?"

"I have a theory, and believe me, you'd rather not hear it. He might be using us to find you." Maia's wraith scanned her surroundings with a frown, then smiled slightly. "But he can't. You're invisible to the eyes of everyone who walks around here, I can sense this kind of magic. Granger, huh?"

Harry smiled widely for the first time in what had seemed like an eternity. "She's brilliant."

"You have to be fast, Potter. Time's running out and there are still parts of him we haven't destroyed. The locket's gone, the diary's gone, the ring, so is Ravenclaw's diadem—"

"Wait, how? How did you find it?"

"I talked to Helena Ravenclaw and found it in the Room of Requirements. Ginny got rid of it."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "Ginny? How have you—"

"It's a long story, scarhead," Maia snorted when Harry rolled his eyes; that nickname no longer seemed to bother him. "You have to be careful. Find Hufflepuff's cup and we'll be closer to the end," Harry's image grew increasingly blurred, and Maia knew she had seconds left with the boy when the landscape began to evaporate. "I'll explain everything when I see you."

"Wait, don't go!"

"Don't you dare dying, Potter."

As if drowning in a great sea, Maia gasped as she regained consciousness. As Harry had predicted, she was lying on her bed —the silver and green colors gave it away— her heart beating fast and a layer of sweat adorning her forehead. What the hell had just happened?

"You okay there?" A voice beside her made her turn her head quickly. Pansy looked at her like she was crazy. "Daphne said you weren't feeling well."

"Never been better." Maia swallowed. She took a deep breath and tried to calm her heart: she would worry about that later. Pansy shrugged and continued minding her business. "What are you doing?"

Pansy looked at her again. "Packing my things. Tomorrow's the start of Easter holidays and everyone's going home. Honestly, are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah." Trailed off the blonde girl.

Suddenly something began to move in her pocket. She reached in and it vibrated from the waves emitted by the gold galleon that Neville had insisted she kept. Her jaw clenched in exasperation when she read the inscription: "Room of Requirements, 11pm."

Of all the scenarios she had imagined being in a room full of Gryffindors, none corresponded to the one she had in mind right now. She knew that coming to the meeting could be a good idea —Neville had taken care to underline the positive things— or a complete disaster. After all, she was a Slytherin, a Malfoy, and the sister of an avowed Death Eater; what could go wrong? She was aware of all the fuss that could be created by her mere presence that night.

But then again, she was strangely drawn to the idea of ​​being part of that group. Longbottom had insisted so much that it had even seemed to her that the Gryffindor wanted her in the Dumbledore's Army.

She thought it would be a good excuse to distract herself from the meeting with Potter that had just taken place.

"I have to go." She communicated to Pansy and mentally hit herself: she didn't have to give the girl any explanation, and surely now she would be asking.

"Now? It's almost 11."

But Maia had already left the room. She paused for a moment against the wood of the door, undecided about some matters but with things very clear about others.

She left the Slytherin Common Room as stealthily as she could; she didn't need anyone chasing her and asking for explanations at that time of night. It struck her as odd that she hadn't woken up with Daphne in the room, and she hadn't bumped into Eden all that day either, but decided she would find out about her friends' whereabouts later.

She had to know what had just happened —her attempts to blank her mind were too weak and her eagerness to discover too strong—, she had to know if she had just made the biggest mistake of her life or if, on the contrary, everything was still safe. She had never spoken mentally before and in that way with someone else, why had it happened with Harry Potter? Had it really been Voldemort who had brought their minds together in order to find out the Gryffindor's location?

If that was true, they were in serious trouble. The snatchers would probably end up with the trio of friends, having discovered their whereabouts by now, and Maia would run into the biggest problem the next day as soon as she set foot at Malfoy Manor. If it had really been all Voldemort's thing, she could be saying goodbye to fulfilling her mission.

There was only one person who could confirm or deter her worst nightmares: Snape.

She walked quickly down the hallways, her shoes the only sound heard against the castle walls. She looked at the clock in a hurry, discovering that it was already past eleven, so she hurried to her destination.

Severus Snape greeted her with a deep and surprised look —although Maia could see that he was trying to avoid it—, noting that it was too late for consultations and that the next day they could speak calmly. But the girl prevented the professor, now headmaster, from closing the door, putting her arm.

"I need to talk to you."

"What is it that brings you here now, Malfoy?"

Snape looked slowly both ways before fixing his gaze back on the blonde when she spoke. "I need to know if he knows."

"What have you done?" Snape growled dragging out his words.

"I don't know what happened," Maia spoke fast. "I don't know when I fell asleep, but the next moment I'm wide awake —my mind is— and I'm seeing Potter. I have no clue how our minds have been connected, but I suspect the Dark Lord is who has done so. "

"You have to be calm, Malfoy," The teacher reproached. "You cannot let anything get to you, have I made myself clear?" Maia nodded slowly. "The Dark Lord does not know. Neither of us would be standing here if I had come across this... knowledge."

"Then what does this mean? How can I talk to Potter being far away and without him using us?"

"You will be the first one to know if I ever find out," Severus Snape muttered and finally closed the door on the girl's face.

Maia cursed loudly, but if Snape heard her, he didn't leave his room to face her. She looked at the clock again to realize the time she had lost. Well, not entirely. At least she knew she was safe and that her plan was going ahead.

However, her mind couldn't stop thinking about what had happened. If it hadn't been Voldemort who had brought them together, then what? Had her mind been powerful enough to try to enter Potter's mind, which was hundreds of miles away from her? If so, why? And why had this been the first time it had happened to her? So many questions and no answers for them.

She hurried to get to the Room of Requirement, since she knew that the DA meetings did not usually last long, and less this time, since tomorrow the majority of the students would leave for their homes, perhaps with the thought of not returning to Hogwarts until everything was calmer.

From the first moment she opened the door —when all the voices ceased and turned into deep silence— she knew that all eyes were on her. Some complained timidly, others less so, others simply decided not to participate in the battle of insults and contempt.

Ginny looked at her, and Maia thought the entire room was lit up by her smile. "You came," Then he looked at Neville. "See, I told you she'd come."

"Are you mad?" Seamus Finnigan spoke from behind them both. "What is she doing here? She's going to snitch!"

"Seamus is right. She shouldn't be here. This is not for Slytherins."

"Guys, guys! Calm down," Neville yelled, making himself heard above all. "How do you think she's found us? I gave her the galleon because I wanted her to be here. Think about all the times we could've been discovered because of her. She didn't say a word and here we are. Maia is on our side," The murmurs died down and Neville spoke again, much firmer: "I trust her."

"How do we know she's not spying on us?" Finnigan said again.

Maia snorted and stood up to Neville, who, with his eyes, warned her not to provoke people too much. "Who wants to be the first to try to use Legilimency on me? That's right, none of you, because not everyone will know what that is and because I'm an expert Occlument. I didn't come here to either fight you or to convince you that I'm on your side. I'm here because Neville's worried about all your wellbeings, and he happens to be my friend, so I came to help. So whoever does not want to learn, that's fine, you can always get out of here. However, those who want to stay, brace yourselves, because I'm not one to go easy on anyone."

For a few seconds no one said anything, and both Neville and Ginny and Maia took it as a good sign. "Okay, we'll stay. If Neville trusts you, we can give you a chance. What can you do?"

"Have you ever heard the saying 'The best defense is a good attack'?" Maia paced around the room as if she were a teacher. Several nodded, and some even spoke to her. "Well, it's wrong. At least with Death Eaters. They're brutal, they'll use anything to their own advantage if it's useful for them. You can master the best stunning spell you know, but if they attack you and you don't know how to defend yourselves, then that's a wrap for you. I'd say the best to start with is master the protego, even better if you know how to cast a protego maxima. I'm aware it's not as exciting as a patronus, but it could save your life." Wand in hand and glaring, she asked, "Well, can anyone cast a protego that's not a disappointment?"

It turned out that throughout the night, Maia was able to discover that they weren't as clumsy as she'd thought from the start. While it was true that some —dare to say most of them —had the basic skills to defend themselves —and attack, to some point— there were three or four students who, the Slytherin thought, would be able to maintain a balanced battle with some Death Eater.

She tried to instill in them in a short time everything she knew, from the details that might seem more foolish to the weaknesses of each of the best known Death Eaters. The students listened to her with interest, aware that this speech could be useful in a certain situation. It seemed that they put aside their prejudices —after seeing everything Maia could do, it was more than obvious that they needed his help to be able to win on the battlefield— because they shared the odd smile when the spells came out like Maia pretended.

"Do not hesitate to distract your attention if possible. Lumos maxima." A huge halo of white light came out of the girl's wand, and she heard grunts from the intensity of the light. "They'll be blinded for a moment and then you can surprise them. Don't think it's evil or non-chivalrous to attack when they can't see you; they'd take any opportunity to wipe you out."

Neville clapped his hands loudly. "Alright guys, I think this is enough. It's almost midnight. Please take care of these days and stay alert."

"You too, Neville."

"Yeah, watch out, man."

Maia felt a pair of arms curl around her waist when they were all gone. "That was awesome. Did you see the look on their faces?" Ginny beamed. "You completely shut their mouths."

"Did I? And what was exactly the look on your face?" Teased Maia, aware of the blush creeping in Ginny's face.

The redhead tried to play it cool. "I was simply mesmerized by your skills. No, really. Thanks for coming. I'm sure everyone learns something new tonight."

Maia couldn't help but feel helpless in Ginny's arms. There was something about the redhead that drew her dangerously, made her drop her guard and make her completely vulnerable. The freckles and scars on Ginny's passionate face wore fire and rebellion, two things unknown to the blonde but for which she had learned that she would walk on glass just to have them a while longer. The Weasley pulled her by the tie and Maia leaned into her lips just to taste of that sheer rebellion.

"I'm still here, y'know." Neville cleared his throat while a light blush appeared on both girls' cheeks.

Ginny laughed lightly and grabbed Maia's hand, pulling her out of the room. "You are beautiful," said Ginny. She was leaning on the wall, Maia close to her. "Your hair and your eyes look almost white on the moonlight. Your eyelashes are really blonde. Your skin is smooth and shines brightly on this light. I can even see a faint dimple on your cheek." Ginny closed her eyes and sighed, grinning. "Are you even real, Maia?"

Just when Maia was about to brush her lips with Ginny's, a voice interrupted them. "Maia? Is that you?"

Ginny rolled her eyes when she saw that it was Daphne Greengrass who was approaching both of them. She seemed to be walking absentmindedly, her vision wasn't fixed properly, and when she reached the girls she leaned on Maia as if she couldn't keep her balance. "Daphne, are you drunk?"

"I sure as hell am, but you should see Eden," she cracked. "He's calling your name."

All of Maia's alarms went off when she heard her friend's name. "Why? What happened to him?"

"He's out of his mind, drank a bottle of fire whiskey all by himself." The other Slytherin slurred. "I think it'd be best if you came alone."

Ginny rolled her eyes again and couldn't help but have mixed feelings. She understood that Maia was worried about her friend, but could everyone stop from taking time with her girlfriend or at least stop pretending as if they were all in love with her?

"Go with them," muttered Ginny. "I'll see you later, yeah?"

Maia kissed her cheek goodbye and left with Daphne. Merlin, could it be a quiet day today? Potter first and now Eden.

"What happened to him, Daphne? Where is he?"

"I was in the library this evening finishing my Potions essay when he came. We were talking, but then out of nowhere he says he wants to get drunk. I laugh because I think he's joking, but next thing I know we're in the kitchens. " Daphne looked better, but Maia had to help her get down the stairs. "I tell him it's time to stop, that it's been fun but it's dinner time and we should get going. He wasn't agressive, but something in his eyes told me that it was better not to mess with him. Then he starts calling your name. I don't know if he's conscious enough to know it's me who's there with him, but he talks aloud 'it's time I tell her'."

"Is he hurt?"

"No, he was sitting against the wall. I got his wand in case he wanted to try something mental." Daphne showed the wand to her, and Maia nodded. "What's happening to him, Maia?"

"It's time we find out," Maia said as soon as she saw the figure of her friend leaning on the wall, his eyes closed but his mouth babbling. "Eden, hey."

"Mai?"

"It's me, love. Can you hear me?" Maia brushed his hair away from his face and cupped his cheeks. "What happened? Daphne, can you get a glass of water?"

The other blonde nodded and got up a little less stunned, and disappeared into the kitchens.

"I tried, you know?" slurred the boy, his voice already trembling. "I tried so fucking hard. I've been restraining myself for so lon ... But I screwed up. I'm in so deep and there's no going back."

"Drink this, Eden. Go on, tell me. I'm listening."

"I've got to tell you something. But promise me you won't be mad or you won't drift away, because I wouldn't stand that—"

"I won't be mad, I promise. Nothing you tell me could make me angry at you."

"It's hard seeing the person you're in love with loving someone else. And I swear, I've tried. I've tried since I felt this way because I knew this wouldn't work out. I knew there'd be arranged marriages, hell, even people you can fall in love with even if you know it won't go anywhere. But it's getting harder as the time passes, and this time I can't hold back, Maia. I've admired from far away that smile for ages, hoping sometimes it was me who created it —but no, it wasn't me. It's her now. It's always her now. It was easier before, because I knew there wasn't anyone specifically, but now she's appeared, and suddenly she cares? Now it's always her before me. And I can't stand it, Maia."

The boy had started to sob from the first words he had said. It broke Maia's heart to see her best friend that way —she knew what it was to suffer for love— but Eden needed to say it out loud or it would end up consuming him.

"It's tough being in love with your best friend."

Daphne gasped, fully aware of what the boy's words meant. Maia, for her part, closed her eyes tight. "Is he in love with you?"

Maia shook her head. "It's not me. Say it, Eden."

Tears fell down the boy's cheeks like waterfalls. "I love Draco. I tried making it go away, but I can't. I know he's not always kind, or a great friend, but he's true. He's private and yet he's shown me every part of him. I fell in love with who he is, not who he thinks he is." The boy forcefully wiped away his tears. "I kissed him, that's why I won't talk to me. He stood there, paralyzed, while I was pouring my heart to him. He left before I got to say anything. It broke my heart but I had to pretend nothing had happened or any of you would suspect. So I tried, once again, to hide how I was really feeling."

The other Malfoy put a hand on his shoulder and squeezed lovingly. "I think I knew. When I told you about him and Pansy, you weren't exactly subtle." The boy gave a small laugh between tears, knowing himself discovered. "Why didn't you tell me before? I would've listened."

"Because you're his sister and my other best friend. I thought maybe you disapproved of who I was, or didn't think I was worthy of him."

"Believe me, if someone's not worthy of someone, that's him. You want the world and he's a douche. I know this won't make you feel better, because I know you don't want the best, you want him. But I really think you deserve better than my brother. If he doesn't know how to give it to you, don't worry, there'll be plenty of other who will want to."

"You being with Ginny actually encouraged me to tell you. You always know how to help." Eden dragged his words, but smiled nonetheless. "I've been wanting to tell you since forever, but I knew I had to tell you, because I knew you would understand better now."

"Do you feel better? Come on, we have to put you to bed. We're going home tomorrow and I wouldn't like to see your mother all angry about this."

"Actually, I'm craving a steak."

"Nah, a bit of chicken will do." Maia gestured for Daphne to reach for some food from the shelves. Then she put her hands on the boy's shoulders, who seemed to be somewhat more sober. "Listen to me. I have loved you since we were eleven. I saw you through your ups and downs and I'm still here. I'll be here no matter what, no matter who you love. We'll find a way to get through this together, eh? You deserve to be happy and that's exactly what you're going to get."

When he woke up the next morning, she wasn't where she would have liked to be. Instead of being surrounded by the warmth that the redhead gave off, she was lying on her Slytherin bed. The two beds next to her were already made and tidy, while hers was poorly made. Like a spring she raised her head: she still had to pack and say goodbye to Ginny.

"Morning, sleepyhead," A voice whispered next to her.

"God, Daphne. What time is it? I still have to—"

"Uh, uh," Tutted the other girl. "Already packed your things for ya. It's 10:30, go get your girl. But you should really consider a shower once you get home."

"Noted!"

The train used to leave at eleven o'clock, so he tried to go as fast as possible to get to the Gryffindor Common Room. However, Neville was found on the stairs, about to climb.

"Have you seen Ginny?"

Neville frowned. "I haven't. I was hoping she'd be with you. She wasn't in the Common Room, so I'd assumed you'd run out to somewhere."

"I saw her earlier," Seamus Finnigan contributed. "She was going out to the station. I had to get up here because I forgot my cauldron, how silly is that?"

Maia followed Neville's gesture, his eyes narrowing. "Weird. I have to get my toad, but you go ahead and find her. I'll catch up with you later."

The blonde listened to the boy, who went upstream to reach his forgotten toad. Unimaginable scenarios occurred to Maia so that Ginny wouldn't have wanted to wait for Neville or herself, but she went down to the station quickly.

He glimpsed red hair and pushed aside all the children who crossed her path and prevented her from meeting Ginny, who she took by the arm once she caught up with her.

"I was hoping you'd say goodbye," Maia smiled, confused.

Ginny looked at her intently. "You sure weren't hoping that last night."

"What do you mean?"

"Where were you? I waited for you until two in the morning and you never came,"

"I know, I'm sorry. I had to deal with something and then fell asleep in my dorm. I didn't even realize when I fell asleep,"

Ginny frowned, her ears red. "What kind of something? You disappearing at midnight with Greengrass? You even smell like alcohol,"

Maia shook her head. "No, that's not it. Eden was very drunk and we took him to his bed. Of course I smell like alcohol, I have been with him all night and haven't even had the time to change clothes. I'm sorry I didn't get to tell you goodnight, but what you think is not what happened, Ginny."

"Wouldn't the first time you get drunk and kiss, would it?"

Maia took it as hard as a blow. "I was trying to be honest with you, not for you to rub it in my face now. There's nothing between Daphne and I, I'm with you, Ginny."

The redhead looked at her with wet eyes. People around were beginning to suspect; What were a Malfoy and a Weasley doing talking? They began to swirl around them in a sneaky way.

"I've felt so replaceable my whole life, I'm scared it's happening again."

"Not with me, Gin. I'm with you."

"Are you?"

At that moment Ginny was completely sure of Maia's feelings for her, because she forgot everything that was happening around her and leaned towards her, kissing her with determination. At that time there were no people looking at them with their mouths open, or whispering, not even what would they say? for being two girls, a Slytherin and a Gryffindor, a Weasley and a Malfoy.

For Maia there was only Ginny.