intoxicating. / / fred weasley / / under revision

6

As the sorting ceremony ended, so did Maeve's cheerleading halftime show.

"Mae, sit down, I think they feel accepted" Cedric pulled her down by her sleeve of her robe.

"I'm quite hungry now" she smirked, the students around her erupted in laughter, bringing Freds attention to her soft, red cheeks as she joked with her friends.

"I saw a dog." She told Cedric, causing the boys next to him to laugh.

"Scamander, it wasn't a dog, I have never once seen a dog by the castle." Fleet said

"I swear, it wasn't a wolf. I know the difference."

All three boys looked at each other, trying to come up with an explanation, but she was right. And they knew that she probably would know more about animals than them,

"Okay fine. It was a dog. But so what?" Melvin asked, tapping on his empty plate waiting for dinner to be served.

"He might be cold." she shrugged

"I swear to Merlin, if I find a dog in our dorm," Julia stopped mid bit, "I will kill you. Last year you had that gross rat looking thing."

"It's called a murtlap." Maeve said, "and Hagrid needed me to watch him. And it was only for one night!"

"Maeve, no."

A cheeky smile slowly formed on Maeve's face and the boys erupted into laughter which quieted down when they saw Dumbledore stand up.

Then all attention was to Dumbledore, "Welcome, welcome to another year at Hogwarts!" Everyone was now listening to him, "Now I'd like to say a few words before we all become to befuddled by our excellent feast."

Meave mumbled, "I hope they made that pudding I like."

Julia snorted.

Dumbledore's voice rang again, "First, I am pleased to welcome Professor R.J Lupin, who's kindly considered to fill the post of Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher. Good luck professor!" Lupin stood and waved, and with that the houses clapped. And of course, Maeve was the one as the welcome party.

"Thank you Maeve for your enthusiasm, I feel that Professor Lupin feels very welcomed." Dumbledore laughed. Maeve's face was once again red as a phoenixes tail feathers. Laughter could be heard from all tables.

"Our Care for Magical Creatures professor for many years has decided to retire, in order to spend more time with his remaining limbs. Fortunately, I'm delighted to announce that his place will be taken by none other than our own Rebeus Hagrid." He motioned towards Hagrid. Of course the Gryffindors were up and clapping.

"Oh yeah I have to tell you guys about that", but before Maeve could tell what she was going to say.

"Finally, on a more describing note, at the request of the Ministry of Magic, Hogwarts will, until further notice, play host to the dementors of Azkaban." Maeve froze, Julia and Cedric noticed, as both places a loving hand on her hands that rested on her thighs. A small shake was coming from her. "Until such a time, Sirius Black is captured, the dementors will be stationed at every entrance to the grounds, or else I am assured that their presence will not disrupt our day to day activities, a word of caution. Dementors are vicious creatures, they will not distinguish between the on the hunt and the one who gets in their way. Therefore, I must worn each and everyone of you to give them no reason to harm you. It is not in the nature of a dementor to be forgiving. But you know, happiness can be found, even in the darkest of times, if one one remembers to turn on the light." At the end of his speech, his eyes fell on Maeve and with a wink, it felt like a reassurance that she was going to be okay.