Now, the old witch was trying to act normal - as if nothing was out of the ordinary.  But, she could try all she wanted and that wouldn't change the fact that both of them had heard her say "Anything from the troll- ooh dear me" when she'd caught sight of Mairead's disheveled appearance. 

Despite the third year's attempt to hang in the shadows of King's Cross Station, dart through the train doors and settle in the closest compartment while giving distinct go away and leave me alone looks to any that drew near, several students had spotted the tattered t-shirt and jeans, greasy, tangled hair and lack of school robes.  Most of the students that were familiar with Mairead knew the girl took a quite casual approach to her appearance, but scuffed cheek and black nose were enough to send a few looky-loos past the compartment window.  As the train rolled out of London, Mairead had settled herself in the corner of the compartment and stared out the window, pointedly ignoring the clandestine looks from the corridor. 

Hunger had won out over pride when the food trolley had jingled up the corridor.  Mairead had hurried to the door, slid it open and was holding the contents of her pocket out when the older witch had stopped in front of her.  Ignoring the woman's surprise, Mairead eyed the cart intently. 

"What can I get for 2 sickles and four knuts?"  Mairead asked.  "Two cauldron cakes and a pumpkin pasty?"  The older witch hesitated, watching Mairead with a mixture of confusion, pity and sympathy before taking the coins and handing the Gryffindor a single cauldron cake and a chocolate frog.  With thoughts of that evening's meal in the Great Hall at the forefront of her mind, Mairead settled back into her seat and hastily ripped open the cauldron cake wrapper. 

"Won't ye just bugger off?"  Mairead snapped when she heard the compartment door slide open.  She was tired and hungry and just not in the mood for ... for sunny, happy, the-world-is-always-beautiful Hufflepuffs.  Of course, that was exactly what was going to come waltzing in. 

"I can't bugger off, it's not possible." Isla replied sunnily. She was not going to let Mairead sour her good mood. She had been trying (and failing!) to befriend the other girl since they first met. These efforts usually left Isla feeling disappointed and discouraged. Her dad always said that sometimes the meanest people were the ones who needed kindness the most-- and that encouraged her to keep trying, even when the odds were heavily stacked against her.

She had split her time between being home with her parents, and being at the Spectre estate with her grandfather. Being around her mother had been so stressful, and she was glad to be able to spend time with the significantly-less-stressful Seanair. She had a plethora of pastries from the trolley in her arms, and struggled to slide the door shut.

"I overestimated again." She admitted, "Can you help me eat these?" Maybe Mairead would, maybe she wouldn't.  "Besides, maman says I should eat less sweets." Isla had a notorious sweet tooth, much to her mother's disapproval. What was she supposed to live on though? Broccoli and quinoa? No way. That was ludicrous.

Mairead eyed the armful of pastries with poorly veiled envy.  Even after her two mouthfuls, Mairead was still so hungry that she would have snatched a handful of the pastries and run, if they were anywhere other than on a train - anywhere where an escape route wouldn't be thwarted after a few train cars.  Hungry enough that when the Hufflepuff offered some to her, pride once again lost. 

"I overestimated again."

"Must be nice," Mairead muttered as she slid off her seat and helped herself to two from the collection.  Before returning to her seat, Mairead picked up a third pastry with an expression that half warned and half begged Spectre to comment.  She settled back in her seat and devoured one of the pastries in two bites. 

The Gryffindor was about to dive into the next when she glanced across the compartment at Spectre.  "Thank you."  She offered, in an almost inaudible mutter.  "They're really good - ah hell, will ye bugger off!"  Mairead jumped up and took a threatening lunge towards the faces pressed against compartment window from the corridor.  With a sneer to a pair of passing fourth years, Mairead jerked the shade down over the window and fell back into her seat. 

"I can't wait te get back," she muttered, delving into the next pasty. 

Isla nodded in a way that she thought was sage-like, red ponytail bobbing with the motion. It was nice to overestimate sometimes. She took a seat next to Mairead and unwrapped a walnut brownie. Too bad, they were friends now. There was a bond between them. A sweets bond. A bond that could never be damaged.

"Do you like school?" She asked, confused. Isla had always gotten the impression that Mairead hated school. After all, the other girl seemed to focus her time and energy on... Flouting authority and being a pest. Which was fine! No. It wasn't that Mairead liked school. Something happened at home that made school preferable.... And judging by Mairead's general attitude towards school, well. It must have been pretty terrible.

So, Isla did the unthinkable-- and threw her arms around the Gryffindor, pulling her into a tight hug.

"Do you like school?"

Mairead turned and gave Isla a do-I-have-to-answer-that look.  There were a handful of classes Mairead wasn't complete rubbish at; primarily Herbology, Charms and Defense.  Really, any class that traded desks and quiet studiousness for getting one's hands dirty.  But, that didn't change the fact that, for the Gryffindor, school was a bear. 

Between bites, Mairead was preparing to assure Isla that she still very much did not like school.  But, before she could speak, Isla was ... hugging her!  Like, arms around her, clasping her in an honest-to-goodness, friendly hug.  Mairead suddenly became very conscious of the fact that she hadn't had a proper shower in almost two weeks and she was wearing the same clothes that she'd worn at the start of the holiday.  And, that Isla's clothes were very clean and she didn't smell like a gutter. 

Mairead squirmed her way out of Isla's hug, taking care to avoid seeing what marks might have been left on the Hufflepuff's clothes.  She was not going to give the impression that her state of dishevelment bothered her.  "I'm just lookin' forward to dinner, okay?"  Mairead countered, defensiveness creeping promptly back into her voice.  She also, admittedly, was missing her bed.  However, she wasn't going to admit she'd grown soft.

Mairead squirmed away, but she hadn't bitten, smacked, or otherwise tried to physically harm Isla in any way. That was as good as a hug, coming from the Gryffindor. Sure, Mairead smelled a little like she hadn't gotten properly cleaned... But some people were poor. Some people had mental health problems. Some people were going through thing that made it harder to access a good shower or bath, or clean laundry.

The fact that Mairead was looking forward to dinner, and emphasized that... Well... That indicated that she hadn't had a proper meal. Maybe that was why she was so short and small. Maybe she had been malnourished for a good portion of her life.

But. Isla liked feasts too. "I can't wait to eat my weight in pudding!" She exclaimed, "But at least now we have these pastries."

“And, I hope there’ll be roast beef.”  Despite her foul mood and despite the other girl’s annoyingly peppy mood, dreaming of feasts to come was a conversation Mairead was prepared to partake in.  “And carrots.  And, those little roasted potatoes.  The really little ones.”  Pudding was good.  But, Mairead wanted the good stuff.

Mairead grew silent and focused all of her attention and senses on devouring two pastries in a row.  The sweetness of the filling and crumbly exterior was wonderful.  She could have easily eaten half a dozen more, but the food already in her belly had taken the painful edge off of her empty stomach.

The distraction and discomfort of hunger faded away and Mairead curled up into the corner formed where the bench met the train compartment wall.  Warm, content and secure for the first time, Mairead felt herself relax.

“Did ye do anything fun for yer holiday?” Mairead asked, poking through the collection of edibles for another treat.  “Sorry about yer clothes.  Hope they weren’t important or anythin.”