Chapter one: The Unexpected

Maisie Lind had grown up thinking that miracles belonged in books and films — that magic equaled finding a wardrobe that led to a faraway land of talking animals and endless winter. The closest magic Maisie had ever encountered was watching an old woman hold the hand of an old man, looking into his eyes with so much affection it physically warmed Maisie. That was until she, one morning six years ago, woke up to a letter inviting her to Hogwarts.

That very letter, and the six other letters inviting her back, were carefully stored in a very worn-looking etui she had, supposedly, inherit from her nameless father.

"When are you leaving?"

The small voice startled Maisie. She was seated on her bed, going through her old Hogwarts letters as if to remind herself that her being a witch was, still, not a made-up dream. The source of the question came from the direction of her bedroom door, that she had apparently left open. Caspian, a buck-toothed ten year old boy afraid of his shadow, looked into her room shyly. Out of all the children coming and going from the orphanage, Caspian was the only one Maise had grown to love. Which made matters worse.

"What are you still doing up?" she asked softly, with a smile that told him that she wasn't upset with him.

It was important, Maisie had learned, to be very kind and encouraging towards the young boy — something sister Vern explicitly was not. To any of the children at St. Angor's. Which, Maisie reckoned, contributed greatly to her gratefulness at having been born a witch, making it possible to escape sister Vern for most of the year. However, everyone had not been born with that privilege.

"I wanted to, um," Caspian hesitantly entered Maisie's bedroom, looking down at his feet. "To say goodbye before you leave again."

"Come here," Maisie said, stretching her arms out to embrace him in one of the rarest things to ever happen inside the walls of St. Angor's Home for Displaced Children: a comforting hug. "I'll write you every week, if you want."

Holding onto her tightly, Caspian nodded his head against her shoulder.

"Could I come with you this time, do you think?" Caspian asked in a quiet voice that, despite the inevitable, held hope.

Every year since Caspian arrived to St. Angor's four years ago, Maisie had been asked that very question. Even so, her heart broke just as much as the first time.

"Not this time, Cas. I'm sorry."

Caspian did not acknowledge her reply more than just tightening his hold around her waist. Giving the boy a kiss on the crown of his head, Maisie knew that the rest of the packing she had planned for tonight was going to have to be pushed to tomorrow morning.

"Shall we do a quick visit to Narnia, hm?" Maisie asked and smiled down at him. Sniffling, Caspian nodded and released her, climbing up on the bed beside her.

Conveniently — and foreseened — Maisie had placed the heavy book containing all of C. S Lewis' seven books on her night stand. As Caspian snuggled up beside her, Maisie leafed through the pages. When she arrived to the first chapter of the fourth book, Maisie began reading the same words she had read a million times before. The story about the prince that Caspian longed to live up to. Despite his desperate attempts to stay awake, Caspian soon fell asleep to the words of magic. Ironically, the idea that brought him comfort was what kept Maisie away from him, thus causing him discomfort.

She felt selfish, now that Caspian was in the picture. Her first year of Hogwarts had been joyous, a dream come true. Then, the summer leading up to her second year, Caspian arrived and the feeling of guilt balanced with the feeling of pure joy at the prospect of leaving St. Angor's. It had even prompted her to look up the ancient school's statutes in hope of finding something that would allow an under-age muggle to stay with her throughout the term. Of course, she came up empty.

The magic flowing through her veins were, as cliché as it sounded, both a blessing and a curse, she reckoned. A guilty-pleasure, even. Which is why she slept restlessly beside one of the few people she truly cared for, knowing that tomorrow would bring a selfish joy and a devastating loss once more.

Before the sun had risen, Maisie had carried the sleeping Caspian back to his room. Had sister Vern found his bed empty this morning, Maisie would have been immediately blamed, which would cause a harsher punishment to Caspian. Sister Vern, despite her occupation as head of an orphanage, hated children. Even more so, she hated unnatural children — which put Maisie and everyone she associated with on top of the list of people to be extra nasty to.

Sneaking back to her bedroom, Maisie went straight to open the small window looking out over the field of withering meadow mats. Growing up, that field had been one of the few beauties Maisie associated with St. Angor's. She would even risk inevitable consequences — picking bouquets of meadow mats and hiding them in her room — in order to have some of the beauty close at hand. But Maisie had not opened the window for the flowers. No, she had done so for the merlin falcon who was patiently waiting for Maisie to let her inside. Almud, the merlin, was her longest companion. Even before knowing she knew she was a witch, Maisie had formed a relationship with the elegant creature. The first time they met was eleven years ago, shortly after she arrived to St. Angor's. Autumn had just arrived and the leaves, much like her overall mood, had fallen.

All the other children were running around, playing games out on the field whilst Maisie was strolling beside the forest located behind the old church turned orphanage. She remembers how absolutely devastated she had been — sister Vern had proved to be a very nasty guardian and none of the kids talked to her because of an incident involving Maisie ending up on the roof (in an attempt at escaping sister Vern's spanking, Maisie had run through the stone corridors when suddenly, she was sitting on the steep roof without explanation). On top of all that, she was missing her mum excruciatingly much.

It had been after the first tears ran down her cheeks that Almud appeared. Perched on one of the firs, Almud had uttered a short chip that captured her attention. Looking up, Maisie watched as the elegant creature stared at her with relentless eyes. She froze, watching him in awe, afraid that if she moved a muscle, she would frighten him.

Disappointment became her when he spread his wings and left the branch. Soon, however, she found herself wide-eyed with fear, instead. Flying towards her, the bird eyed her with determined eyes and, going purely on instinct, Maisie raised her hands over her head. That action would come to prove useless, because the bird had not been determined to harm her. Instead, it found a place on her left shoulder where it calmly sat. It took Maisie about ten minutes before she dared to move. Another ten to bravely lift her hand and stroke him. After that, they formed an unbreakable bond. There had been no doubt, five years later, that the animal she wanted to bring with her to Hogwarts was Almud.

"Ready?" Maisie asked the bird who was, like many times before, perched on her shoulder.

With an agreeing coo, the bird spread its wings and willingly flew into the large cage placed on the bed. Maisie did not enjoy seeing Almud in the cage, but there was just no other way. Almud refused to leave her side — she tried to convince him to fly next to the train her second year, to no avail — and they did not allow birds to roam free on the Hogwarts Express. Maisie imagined she felt more uncomfortable with Almud in the cage than he himself did.

With one hand holding her her trunk and the other carrying Almud, Maisie exited her room and headed downstairs. It was too early for anyone to be up, which she was grateful for, so she carefully tried to take her leave in the most quiet manner possible. Quite satisfied with herself for making no noise, Maise reached the hall. However, her satisfaction was short-lived as she saw the person that loathed her the most block the front door.

"I don't know how many times I have told you that it is against the rules to have sleepovers in your rooms, Miss Lind," sister Vern said coldly, her dark blue eyes narrowing on Maisie.

"I'm sorry, sister," Maisie said, still a bit startled at not being the only one awake. "It won't happen again."

"I know it won't," sister Vern said and the assured, almost pleased tone the older woman adopted put Maisie off. "Tell me, Miss Lind, are you aware of the laws in this great country of ours?"

"I imagine not, sister," Maisie replied. "There are quite a few, you see."

Maisie's cheek was visibly not appreciated. It never was.

"At the age of sixteen, one is allowed to acquire a residence. This, Miss Lind," sister Vern's eyes were glinting in a way that Maisie had never seen before. "Means that you are no longer welcome to stay here, since you no longer need our care."

"Sister," Maisie said, frowning and feeling her stomach turning. "I don't- I don't have the money to buy an apartment, you know this, I—"

"That," sister Vern cut off sharply. "Is not our concern."

A silence settled in the hall. Maisie was staring at sister Vern, battling with herself. This was not much of a shock, in all honesty. Maisie had, for years now, wondered what loophole sister Vern would find to kick her out of the orphanage. However delighted she was at the prospect of being free from this miserable excuse of a home, there was just no way she would be able to find herself a place to live without any money to her name. And, despite this also being an inevitable fact, Maisie felt a painful stab in her chest at the thought of saying goodbye to Caspian forever. Nevertheless, she wasn't given much of a choice, anyway.

"I suppose this is farewell, then," Maisie said finally.

"Yes," sister Vern said, moving away from the front door that she blocked. "I imagine you've packed all your belongings."

"Yes, sister."

Without another word and look at her, sister Vern walked past Maisie and disappeared up the stairs, leaving Maisie completely lost as to what to do. It was so anti-climatic. After seventeen years in her care, sister Vern hadn't even bothered to say goodbye. Or forewarn her of this eviction. Not that they had ever had a stable or even healthy enough relationship to form any sort of obligations to each other, Maisie still felt like this was just extreme. Even for sister Vern.

Completely wrapped up in her own thoughts, Maisie forgot that she had been on her way, until Almud shifted in his cage, successfully snapping her out of her trance.

Telling herself that a solution to this new problem could be thought of later, Maisie hurried out the door and into the pouring rain. The gravel road underneath her feet was turning into mud, but she had no time to worry about dirty shoes as she hurried down the driveway. There was a bus stop just down the road from St. Angor's where, once in a blue moon, a bus would stop to take you into the nearby city. St. Angor's was located in the rural village of Little Hangleton, a village where nothing ever happened. Sister Vern, Maisie reckoned, loved just that about it.

Slightly out of breath, Maisie stopped at the bus stop and began to unbutton the maroon coat she was wearing. Tucked into the inner pocket of her coat was Maisie's wand that she, swiftly, grabbed and pointed at nothing in particular. The action being much like the one a muggle would do when hailing a taxi. Which, in Little Hangleton, was an insane thing to do — no taxis had ever even been to this part of England.

But it wasn't a bus Maisie was looking for, it was the vehicle of which that stopped right in front of her only seconds after raising her wand. The vehicle akin to a muggle bus opened its doors and out stepped a skinny, rather rat-looking young man. He didn't look a day older than twenty-five.

"Hogwarts again, innit?" Ernest Pearson grinned as he looked down at Maisie from the steps of the Knight Bus. He was wearing the custom purple suit, signifying his job as conductor.

"They seem to want me to graduate so they've welcomed me back for another year, yes," Maisie replied. Jumping down onto the ground, Ernest laughed, as he went to help her with her trunk.

"I reckon it's 'cause of yer charms," Ernest said and followed Maisie into the bus which, as soon as they were on it, sped off.

Perhaps because it was too early in the morning, or because it was a Saturday, the Knight Bus was relatively empty. Only Madame Humphries — an old woman who always smelled of firewhiskey and who seemed to never get off — and a nervous looking lad with purple hair was keeping Ernest, Maisie and the driver, Ernie, company so far.

"'Ello, love," Ernie greeted shortly without taking his eyes off the road.

"Hello, Ernie," Maisie greeted back before taking a seat near the front of the bus.

"So, how's it going, Mais?" Ernest asked as he, too, sat down.

Maisie's first time requiring the service of the Knight Bus had incidentally been Ernest's first day on the job. The two had struck up a friendship that, apparently, only needed two days of the year to maintain.

"Good, thank you for asking," she lied smoothly. "What about you?"

"Absolute shit," Ernest said without restrictions. "Millicent dumped me, mum won't take me in and they've stopped making me favourite flavour o' gum."

"That does sound rough," Maisie replied, placing Almud down on the seat beside her. "Why did Millicent break things off, if you don't mind me asking?"

"Don't worry about it," Ernest said, waving his hand dismissively. "Right, so, last week me and the lads were out celebrating the win against Bulgaria and this lass comes up to me and, out of nowhere, kisses me, right? She kisses me. I tell Millicent about it when I come home because, well, she's me best friend, ain't she? I tell her everything. Anyway, she absolutely loses it, sending plates at me and yelling about how I'm this irresponsible wanker who can't even stop a drunk lass from throwing herself at me, and then, before I know what's hittin' me — other than her granny's old plates — she's telling me to get out and never speak to her again."

Maisie looked at him, slightly stunned at the story, before clearing her throat.

"Did you push the drunk woman away from you, or did you kiss her back?" Maisie asked, narrowing her eyes, a bit suspicious, at Ernest who rolled his eyes.

"I'm not, despite what me girlfriend thinks, a wanker, Mais. Of course I pushed her away."

"And you told Millicent this?"

"Yes," Ernest replied miserably, slumping in his seat. "She wouldn't listen to me. I don't understand, we've been together for six years now and, sure, I'm not the richest lad in all the land, but I've loved her unconditionally and been sure to make her know it, ya know?"

"Ernest," Maisie said slowly, tilting her head slightly. "Has there been anything else? Other than this incident, that could explain why she broke up with you?"

Ernest face became very pale as he stared at Maisie. "You don't think she… she's found some other lad, do ya?"

"No, no, no!" Maisie shook her head quickly. "That's not what I was thinking, I meant something more like her acting weird, or you doing something out of the ordinary."

"Oh," Ernest said, frowning. He seemed to think about it, but finally sighed defeatedly. "Not really, this took me completely by surprise. We haven't even fought at all in the last weeks — haven't really been able to, she's been a bit ill."

"How so?"

"It's nothing too serious. She's just stressed, we reckon, what with working at the Hog's Head and taking extra shifts at the ministry. Been throwing up sometimes, and has been sleeping longer than usual. I told her she should slow down, quit one of the jobs. It's not like we're that poor, I mean."

"Ernest…" Maisie said, shifting in her seat apprehensively. "It sounds to me that she, erm, that she might be…"

"What?"

"Maybe she's pregnant?" Maisie blurted out, afraid to dip her nose where it didn't belong, yet not able to refrain herself.

By the look at Ernest shell-shocked expression, she figured she'd gotten her nose soaked.

"I-" Ernest seemed at loss for words.

"Or maybe not!" Maisie continued a bit desperately. She didn't want to be the reason Ernest got a stroke or worse. "Maybe it's something completely different, I don't know!"

A silence fell round them as Ernest stared blankly in front of him, completely occupied with the running thoughts in his head. Maisie sighed and sunk back into her seat, feeling like her mouth had definitely grown a few inches. After a while of passing through different towns, picking up more and more passengers (who were greeted by a pale and quiet Ernest), Maisie wondered if Ernest was ever going to find his voice again. The thought had not even passed through her head when Ernest opened his mouth.

"I think you're right, Mais," Ernest said, looking up at her. "It makes sense, doesn't it? The morning sickness, her mood… I am a wanker, aren't I? So bloody stupid."

"Oh, no, Ernest, you're not," Maisie comforted and reached out to pat his shoulder.

"No wonder she went off like that," Ernest muttered. Then, as if just realizing it, Ernest's mouth stretched out in a wide, unexpected smile. "Hey, Mais... I'm going to be a father."

"Well, it could be something else, but-"

"Oi!" Ernest stood up from his seat and looked out across the passengers who were, uninterestedly, looking back at him. "I'm gonna be a dad!"

Too wrapped up in his own euphoria, Ernest ignored the unresponsive crowd he'd just shouted at and instead let out a hysteric laugh before he put his hands on his head, completely overwhelmed.

"London's next," Ernie said from behind the wheel.

"Thanks, Ernie," Maisie muttered, watching Ernest with worried eyes. "You alright?"

"I need to talk to Millicent," Ernest muttered to himself as he took a seat again. "Merlin, I don't even know what those wee bastards eat."

"You'll be fine," Maisie laughed, finding Ernest mixture of panic and happiness endearing.

"You think so? Honestly?" Ernest asked, giving her a hopeful yet unsure look.

"Honestly," Maisie said, meaning it. "Any child would be happy to have you as their father."

The bus suddenly came to an abrupt halt and Almud's cage rattled in its seat. Maisie stood up just as Ernest did and he enveloped her in an unexpected hug.

"You're invited to the baby shower," Ernest promised. "I'll write to McGonagall meself, if it's on a school day."

Maisie laughed, unsure whether or not he was serious. "Thanks, Ernest. I hope everything works out alright."

"It will," Ernest said, determinedly. "I'll make sure of it."

As he helped her with her trunk, Ernest gave Maisie another hug as he bid her farewell. A bit overwhelmed herself, Maisie waved goodbye and watched the Knight Bus speed off onto the next destination. Looking down at her wrist watch, Maisie noticed that the drive from Little Hangleton had taken longer than usual — as the clock turned thirty past eight, Maisie realized that she had to hurry if she wanted to get her school supplies and make it to King's Cross in time.

Little did she know that missing the train back to Hogwarts was a worry miniscule compared to the worries the unexpected changes this year was going to cause her. The final year of Hogwarts was going to challenge Maisie in a way she had never been challenged before. In good, and in bad.