Know-It All

When Maeve got back to her room, she was delighted that Pansy was already there going through Maeve’s makeup box.

“I told you I didn’t take your lipstick,” Maeve tapped on Pansy’s shoulder, who hid her surprised jump with a groan.

“Well, I still can’t find it,” Pansy sighed, walking to the end of Maeve’s bed and sitting on her trunk. Pansy leaned on her elbows to get closer to Maeve. “I swear I left it here after… Never mind all that! You know why I came here.”

“Really?” Maeve laughed, taking the hairpin out of her hair. Pansy immediately reached for it with a smirk.

“I told him he should choose this one.”

“What? Did you actually?” Maeve took her hairpin back, placing it on her dresser but ultimately moving it to her bedside table. Maeve considered for a second if Draco asking for advice cheapened the gesture, but ultimately decided that it sweet more than anything. She knew that he just didn’t know what to look for.  Draco from last year would have probably teased her messy locks instead of replacing her hair pin.

“He was wrecked about it and complained to me in our common room,” Pansy laughed. “He wanted to buy you like five different colors.”

“Is that why Theodore punched him?” Maeve pried, blushing at the thought of Draco trying so hard to please her.

“Oh. My. God! Did he tell you anything?” Pansy couldn’t hide her smile and clapped her hands together.

“No, but I noticed his busted lip. He wouldn’t tell me when I asked,” Maeve shook her head. A thousand possibilities ran through her head over what could happen. Before Pansy could speak, there was a frantic knocking at the door that made Maeve groan. Did one of her roommates forget her key again? Maeve was happy to be on the shortlist of prefects for next year because that meant having her own room and only having to worry about herself. “Probably one of my roommates. Don’t forget what you were going to say.”

“Maeve! Harry gave me this to give to you. Harry Potter!” A first-year that Maeve honestly didn’t know the name of yelped, shoving a piece of paper into her hands as soon as she opened the door. Maeve was caught off guard and took it with thanks. The young witch scurried off, confusing Maeve greatly. Maeve thought that she probably had a crush on Harry, who was nothing short of charismatic and was also quickly climbing to the top of every young witch’s list since he was chosen as a Triwizard Tournament champion. Maeve appreciated Harry’s friendship and was fascinated by his dueling prowess, though his Muggle upbringing caused him to be behind on most of his magical studies. However, they were only friends because Maeve and Hermione were close.

In Maeve’s mind, Harry and Ron were pretty interchangeable as friends though she thought Ron was a little bit odd. Ron never talked to her directly, usually only to ask a clarifying question. The trio’s close friendship intimidated her as she had nothing similar with any of her housemates. Maeve regarded herself pretty close with her housemates, but she usually embarked on her academic pursuits on her own since none of them were brave enough to “defy” the rules.

She grew tired of explaining how she wasn’t really defying the rules, just bending them right before they could break. Why else would there be a Restricted Section of the school’s library? Hogwarts’ curriculum was confined to safety and Maeve knew there was more to that. Pansy was probably her closest friend, an odd pairing between the two since they couldn’t be more opposite. When they were together, they were able to freely express their softer sides of girlhood. It was a nice change of pace from the rigor of academics to talk about boys and the newest magazine cover of Vogue Witches, but only when they were alone together.

Maeve remembered the paper in her hand and her waiting friend, so she unfurled the piece of paper to see what Harry wanted from her.

Ravenclaw tower entrance. Past lights out. Make sure nobody follows you.

The note made Maeve chuckle. “Make sure nobody follows you”? Maybe he needed Maeve’s help sneaking back into the Restricted Section like she had done a few times last year or he wanted clarification on a curse.

“What was that all about?” Pansy raised an eyebrow, but Maeve waved her off.

“Harry wants my help with something. It doesn’t matter. Tell me what happened between Theo and Draco,” Maeve rolled the note back up and tossed it precariously on her dresser. Maeve sat on her bed, leaning forward so that she could get closer to Pansy, who rested her head on one of the pillars of the four poster and stretched her legs out on the clothes trunk.

“Draco was asking me about the hairpins when Theodore comes down from his room asking why Draco’s all dressed up. Theodore’s pressing him a little bit since you told him that you two were supposed to be practicing dueling? Anyway, Draco tells Theodore to shove off and Theo keeps asking questions, like if you’re free tonight then. Draco, oh my… Draco tells him that you don’t like him and you actually find him creepy-“ Pansy raced through her words and Maeve could only reply with a dropped jaw.

“I never said that!” Maeve interjected, to which Pansy held up her hand to stop her from interrupting.

“Draco basically goes on a rant saying how you’re too good for Theodore and he just swings. Right there in front of the fireplace! The prefects have to break up the whole thing and tells Theodore he has a week of detention. Draco calls him a few names under his breath, so Theo tries to swing again, which lands him another week of detention and the two can’t be seen around each other,” Pansy was clearly enjoying herself and the bewildered expression on Maeve’s face.

“Why would he say those things about me? Draco, I mean,” Maeve rubbed her face in disbelief. Pansy glared at Maeve through her eyebrows like it was a ridiculous question.

“The two of you are so dense,” Pansy tsked, flicking Maeve’s arm.

“What! It’s an honest question,” Maeve protested, flicking Pansy back. The two just giggled as Pansy sighed and shook her head dramatically.

“It’s hard being a friend to the both of you. For someone as smart as you are, you really can’t be this obtuse,” Pansy sighed again.

“Pans, what on earth are you talking about,” Maeve threw up her hands incredulously.

“Draco fancies you. Adores you, even,” Pansy shouted exasperatedly. Maeve quickly shook her head with a laugh making Pansy roll her eyes. “Really? You don’t believe me? Then tell me about your little date you had earlier.”

“It wasn’t a date! We just went for dinner… at this place that he really likes that nobody else knows…” Maeve trailed off, looking up towards the ceiling which made Pansy burst out into laughter. Saying it out loud made Maeve reconsider the events of the night. But she sat up and reconfirmed that, “It felt totally platonic.”

“And that was it? He took you to his special place for dinner and took you back?” Pansy interrogated, swinging her legs the other way.

“Well, we walked around for a bit and it was cold so he… gave me his jacket…” Pansy roared with laughter as Maeve continued her story. “Hey, I would totally give you my jacket if it was cold outside. That’s just the friendly thing to do.”

“Yeah, but you haven’t been obsessed with me since the first year,” Pansy was laughing so hard that tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Maeve tossed a pillow at her friend to bring her out of delusions. Draco never hinted at anything more than academic rivals between the two of them. Their friendship, whatever it was, wasn’t worth complicating over Pansy’s theories.

Maeve cringed at the scene that played out in her head where after she’d tell Draco that she found him maybe a little bit handsome, he’d scrunch his nose up and tell her she looked like a Weasley or something. That was reality because that had actually happened in their second year, except she had asked him if he wanted to be partners with her on a Beasts project. Draco ended up saying yes, but not after endlessly teasing her for being Ron’s cousin and because he couldn’t get the Puffskein to stay still.

“You’re hilarious, Pansy. He doesn’t like me. He always makes fun of me,” Maeve pointed out. Pansy tossed the pillow back at her.

“Draco’s shit at expressing his feelings. Maybe if he had a little encouragement of reciprocity…” Pansy suggested, making Maeve gasp.

“Now you’re delusional,” Maeve rolled her eyes.

“You’re going to tell me that you don’t feel the same?” Pansy raised her eyebrows, making Maeve cough nervously. Saving Maeve from the embarrassment of talking out her feelings were her roommates bursting through the door with loud chatter about whatever happened to them at the Three Broomsticks. Pansy rolled her eyes at Maeve’s afforded avoidance and started to get up before any of the other Ravenclaws could shoo her.

“Lost, Parkinson?” One of Maeve’s roommates teased, to which Pansy called her a name under her breath. “What did you say?”

“I said, I was just leaving. Maeve, talk to me again when you’ve stopped denying everything,” Pansy waved off, leaving Maeve stunned. Luckily, her roommates didn’t press the issue because they were too engrossed in their own stories. Maeve decided to get ready for bed, not realizing how late it had gotten and she still had to see what Harry wanted. If anything, a cool splash of water on her face would righten her. Pansy was simply ridiculous.