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Maria wiped the soot off her pants as she stepped out of the fireplace into the Leaky Cauldron.
Perseus emerged from the fireplace immediately after her and a few more moments passed before Remus appeared as well. It only took a few seconds before Perseus found himself buried in a blur of red as Fred and George tackled him in a hug.
The entire Weasley family seemed to be at the Leaky Cauldron for some odd reason and they happened to catch them at the right moment. Harry and Hermione were present too as they watched the reunion from afar, intimidated by the older Black children. Maria didn't particularly notice all the Weasleys as she was focused on trying not to lose control of her anger. The last thing she needed was to lash out at innocent people.
Perseus hugged his best friends as they all exchanged smiles and laughs. They had missed each other over the summer and Maria could only imagine what pranks they would pull this year. Not that she cared much at the moment.
Soon, she felt the stares of George and Fred on her but she simply kept her eyes narrowed at Perseus, who released a tired sigh at her attitude. Fred and George exchanged confused glances as the frown on Maria's face only deepened.
"You can't keep me from him forever," Maria huffed at Perseus as she continued to ignore the two redheads. She acted as though they weren't even there but in reality, she was simply too angry to notice anything or anyone else.
Maria turned away from the group as she made her way over to Remus. Everyone was confused as she held out her hand expectantly but Remus only released a tired sighed as he reached into his pocket to grab a single key. He hesitated as he held it in his hand but eventually held it out for the girl to take.
"Room three," Remus informed Maria, who didn't even acknowledge anything he said as she grabbed her luggage and stormed upstairs. Everyone could hear the keys jingling, a slight pause, the creaking of the door opening, and finally the door slamming shut with as much force Maria could summon.
"Everything alright?" George questioned Perseus with a raised eyebrow as even Fred was taken a bit off guard. They had never seen Maria with so much anger, or really any emotion, before and it was slightly unnerving. Fred could only guess what could possibly be so bad that it would cause Maria to lash out that much.
"She'll get over it," Perseus shrugged although it sounded to Fred that he was trying to convince himself rather than the rest of them.
Up in the room, Maria tossed her luggage to the ground as she jumped onto the bed angrily. She flipped over onto her stomach, burying her face into the pillow as she let out the loudest scream to try and release her anger. Unfortunately, it didn't seem to do anything but make her throat sore.
"Somebody's angry," a ghost she had never met appeared above her suddenly with a mocking grin, worsening Maria's mood even further.
"Why can't you bloody ghosts just leave me alone!" Maria yelled as snatched a pillow and threw it at the ghost only for it to fly through him harmlessly. The ghost seemed surprised that the girl could see him at first before shrugging and disappearing without another trace.
