Well, this was it. #10 Lowell Flats. Maddy hoped she'd come to the right place. Just in case, she glanced down at the slightly crumpled parchment in her hand, smoothing over where she'd neatly printed a name and address. She let out an inaudible sigh of relief when she saw that the two matched. Maddy had already had her monthly fix of the Knight Bus today. As she heaved her trunk onto the landing, a shiver coursed through her. Maybe this wasn't as brilliant an idea as she had thought. About a week ago, she'd answered an ad in the Prophet- and without a thought to who her new roommate really was. She didn't know Daniel McKinley- what if he didn't like her? Maybe he was a convict, an escaped criminal from another country? What if he were an alcoholic, or chronically angry, or worse, what if he collected dolls? What if he opened the door, and one sat there, winking at her from a mantelpiece? Oh, the animated dummy in St. Mungo's would strain her nerves enough. The more possibilities her mind came up with, the less certain she felt. What had possessed her to respond to the ad in the first place?

The answers that came to Maddy soothed her a little. Financially, she didn't require a roommate- she probably could have easily afforded an apartment in the upper end of London. But she didn't want to stay alone- y- and her friends wouldn't let her isolate herself. Just because you're shy, you're scared of what other people think of you, doesn't mean you can cut yourself off. And considering her friends were lounging around on their estates, or already rooming with someone else, she had had to swallow her fears, and think of other options. Her parents would certainly disapprove, should they hear that their daughter was rooming with a man, but that was their concern, not Maddy's.

Oh, she shouldn't be so pessimistic. There was every chance that Daniel would turn out to be a perfectly nice person. He had asked for a dog-lover after all. Another thought struck her- what if he didn't like Vlad II, or Baby Blue? Maddy had been teased before for owning a mink- they weren't really wizarding pets. And her Jobberknoll, well, sometimes people found it unnerving for a creature to be so silent. But she would overcome that hurdle if she had to. There was no reason to be so paranoid.

Before she thought of any other reasons why Daniel McKinley would most certainly detest her, she brushed off her skirt, tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, and tapped lightly on the door.

"Madina?"

A smile bloomed on Maddy's face as her new roommate answered the door. He was taller than her, with longish hair and unusual slate eyes. "Hi," she said, shyly. "Maddy, please. And you must be Daniel. I'm really pleased to meet you. I hope you don't mind me coming a bit early, but I don't trust the Knight Bus to get anywhere on time, and I wasn't quite sure I'd gotten the right place. And, I hope you like chocolate, because I have a box somewhere in my trunk." Her excitement was causing her to talk far too much. Maddy blushed a little, and shut her mouth. But she was just so excited to be taking this new step in her life, it almost radiated off her. Adulthood. Living independently. It had put the usually quiet young woman into an unusual mood.