A/N: Welcome to the crazy ride that is my first actual attempt at a multichapter fanfiction. Let me know what your first impressions are and constructive criticism his highly welcomed by the way. Even, or especially, regarding grammar, syntax or semantics, because English is not my first language and I probably still make a lot of mistakes.
Either way, I hope you enjoy the first chapter and I'll hopefully see you soon for the second ;)
Julia aka. Auqilara
Disclaimer: Sadly I do not own Harry Potter and do not earn any money with this.
Don't Let Me Drown
Chapter One – Of Eagles, Badgers, Lions and Snakes
A high-pitched screech that vaguely sounded human, tore Joanna abruptly from a pleasant dream. Startled, she opened her eyes, needing a few moments to realise that she was still in the little train compartment, on the way to begin her sixth year at Hogwarts.
She ran a hand over her face, trying to wipe the lingering drowsiness from her forest green eyes. "What by Merlin's beard was that?"
Her friend Dorcas, who sat across from her, shrugged. "Sounded a bit like Lily Evans, wouldn't you say?"
"I'd say more like a cat hit by a disintegration curse," Joanna replied sceptically, while trying to pull her long, from sleep dishevelled chocolate brown hair back into a ponytail.
Another shrill sound rang through the train, followed by a series of almost comprehensible, screamed words.
"I take that back, it's clearly Evans."
A sly smile crept onto Dorcas face. "I bet she just found out that James Potter was made Head Boy."
Joanna looked up to her blond friend in surprise. Potter and his little gang of friends spend more time in detention than in actual classes. "He is Head Boy this year? How did that happen?"
Dorcas shrugged again. "Don't ask me. Maybe his parents bribed Dumbledore." A small, seemingly sympathetic smile began to spread across her lips. "Now I don't envy you so much anymore for being a Prefect. You are going to have to endure that up close, Jo."
Joanna had become a Ravenclaw Prefect last year and had been immensely proud of that little blue and bronze badge ever since, but right now she viewed it rather as a punishment than a reward. At least for her eardrums.
A dark little chuckle escaped Jo and she shook her head slightly. "I'm not looking forward to the screaming, but I do think that their interactions hold something oddly comical most of the time."
Dorcas gave her a doubting look, but before she was able to say anything, the door to the small compartment they shared was suddenly pushed open and a head popped through.
"Finally, there you are Green. We should have meet up with the others five minutes ago! Come on, or our brand-new Heads will have mangle each other to death before we even arrive."
Head and voice belonged to Anthony Caldwell, the other sixth year Ravenclaw Prefect, who now stood at the compartment door, looking expectantly Joanna's way.
Feeling embarrassed, she rose immediately from her seat. "Oh, I'm so sorry Caldwell! I fell asleep and-"
He raised his hand in annoyance, shutting her up. "Do I look like I care? Let's go."
After acknowledging Dorcas presence with a nod that was accompanied by a short, bored sounding "Meadows.", he turned to leave.
Joanna grimaced behind his back, before she followed him dutifully.
When they arrived at the compartment where the Prefect meeting took place, Jo was surprised by the lack of screaming. It was eerily silent. But when Anthony moved in front of her and opened the door, she had to rein herself in as to not break out laughing at the picture revealed to her.
Lily Evans sat petrified on the bench on the right of the spacious compartment, her loose fiery hair the only thing moving, as it danced slightly from the small airstream the opened door had created. Her features were frozen in an expression that almost suggested she was in physical pain. The little Head Girl badge had been proudly and securely pinned to her robes.
Next to her, sat a nonchalant James Potter with a similar little badge on his robes, but a mischievous grin plastered on his face. He was chatting animatedly with Lupin and McKinnon, the seven year Gryffindor Prefects, and appeared to do his best to actively ignore the Slytherins in the room.
Potter looked up as the two Ravenclaws entered. "Green, Caldwell, good, now we are complete." He shot a lopsided grin Evan's way. "Lily, would you like to begin to enlighten them all about this year's plans?"
The redhead beside him swallowed visibly, as if she tried to keep herself from shouting insults at him. "Sure, Potter." She took a deep breath and turned to address the Prefects around her.
"This year is going be all about promoting the Inter-House unity. The Heads of Houses have thought it to be advantageous to strengthen the relationships between the Houses regarding the recent horrible events that shook our society. We need to face any oncoming threats together, without letting some petty, childish rivalries divide us."
Evans stopped there for a moment, pulled a few parchments from her bag and started handing them out to everyone. "This is going to be your new plan for your Prefect rounds. Where you only patrolled with your partner from your respective House last year, you will only be paired off with one fellow Prefect from a different House this year. The purpose of this is to have you guys act as a role model for other students, showing off how Inter-House friendships are possible and hopefully helping to tighten the relations between the Houses in the process."
At first Joanna felt quite indifferent to this news. She really wouldn't miss spending time with Caldwell that much. Most of the time that boy was such a conceited prat. But after she moved to take one of the parchments, she frowned when she spotted Joanna Helena Green on the handwritten list right next to a Regulus Arcturus Black.
She knew he was a Slytherin from her year, he even sat in her Transfiguration class since first year, but she never actually exchanged a word with him. He had always been rather silent in class and carried constantly a frosty attitude about himself. She knew the various rumours about him though, and none of them helped to paint a positive picture of him.
Why couldn't she be paired up with one of those nice and friendly Hufflepuff Prefects…then again, since when did she let gossip influence her opinion? She thought herself to be at least smarter than that.
Looking up from the parchment, she immediately caught his eyes from across the room.
He was staring at her intensely. While his face remained in its usual cold mask of indifference, his bright grey eyes were filled with something Joanna couldn't quite pinpoint.
Resentment? Or even disgust? She didn't know. It was clear though, that he did not like this new development at all. He probably already mentally cursed the person that put his name next to that of the most annoying Ravenclaw swot.
At least that was what Jo imagined he must be thinking.
Getting uncomfortable with the sudden unwanted attention on her person, she finally broke the eye contact and tried to concentrate on Potter, who seemed to have already been talking for a few seconds.
"… yeah, a shame, I know, but at least they repay us all with a hopefully grand party. There is going to be a ball before Christmas break to advertise Inter-House friendships further. Shitty thing is though, that everyone needs to bring a date from another House. But oh well, we'll manage, right?"
He gave Evans another of his brilliant similes, who tried her best to ignore him, and then clapped his hands together. "Okay, that's all there is to discuss for now guys, enjoy the rest of the train ride."
Unhappy mummer spread through the room while everyone slowly started to leave, taking in these new plans for the oncoming schoolyear.
Joanna tried to hide her amused smile, when Evans moved past her muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "At least he cannot pester me to go with him to that thing" under her breath.
However, that smile faded quickly from her face as she noticed that Black's cold, steel grey eyes were still fixed on her form. Trying to hide her uneasiness, she quickly turned to leave the compartment as well.
Outside, letting a deep breath of air fill her lungs, she started to make her way back to Dorcas.
The image of Black's disapproving eyes staring at her had burned itself onto the back of her brain. Trying to shake it from her mind she told herself that she didn't care what Black thought of her. She didn't care what anyone thought of her. All she did cared about was achieving what was expected of her.
With all her N.E.W.T classes starting this term, Joanna had hardly any time to worry about if someone dislikes her.
It will be difficult enough for her to make some time for Quidditch practice this year, but that was the only thing she allowed herself to do just for fun. She savoured every little moment up in the air and was not that bad of a Chaser for the Ravenclaw team.
She couldn't give that up. It wasn't an option.
It had taken so much effort to persuade her father into letting her play in the first place.
Which meant that she needed to put all her energy and remaining free time into studying twice as hard for her classes or she would never be good enough to obtain a high position in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement, let alone a seat on the Wizengamot.
A flash of icy coldness spread through her whole body at the thought of how much disappointment and shame she would cause her father if she failed to accomplish her goal. Her limbs began to turn numb and Joanna needed to close her eyes for a moment, taking another deep breath to calm herself down.
No. She really had no time to waste on such irrelevant thoughts.