Does love exist? That's the question everyone's been trying to answer for centuries. Now, there's probably some people who would jump up at this and say, Of course it is! And they really do believe that. They keep on hoping that someday their prince charming will come and sweep them away to better times. And does it ever happen? What about Romeo and Juliet? A classic argument. But really, it's just a piece of literature. And even if it were true...look at how well that turned out. So does love exist? I don't think anyone can ever truly know, at least until they've felt it. So for me, for now; it doesn't. But if you skip a year into the future...who knows?
!#$%^
"Jayden! Are you coming?" A group of my Ravenclaw "friends" called out to me. They wanted me to go to some party that the upper years were throwing in celebration of the Triwizard Tournament. The other schools were arriving tomorrow, and they thought it would be smart to throw their lives away tonight; just to have some reckless fun. Well, I for one was not going to ruin everything just for some "fun".
"No." But they were already out the door, knowing what my answer would be before I even spoke. I shook my head. They just didn't understand. How could they go to a party, when there was homework to be done? At least I'll still have all O's. I sighed and tucked a lock of my dark brown hair behind my ear. I had to get my Potions essay done, or else Snape will have my head.
!#$%^
I was done with my homework. I was done with my studying. I was done with everything and it was only an hour after I had started. I twiddled my thumbs impatiently. I bet the party was still going strong. Oh, Merlin. It was actually tempting. Tempting to go to a party. A party. I mean, it couldn't be that bad, otherwise they wouldn't have it, right? A white ball of fur jumped onto my lap, startling me out of my thoughts. I sighed and rubbed behind my cat's ears gently.
"Oh, Anastasia..." I sighed. She was a pain, to say the least; but I loved her all the same. My dad bought her for me after my mum died, and she's been my best friend ever since. Through thick and thin, a pet was there for you, always. Ha! It seemed like she was the only one. My mum died when I was only about a year old, killed by He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. My dad went into a state of depression, so while I still have a dad, he's not much of one. My older sister is in Gryffindor, and is...well, the words I have in my mind aren't exactly right for me to say aloud.
She thought that she was all that, and it annoyed me. She was popular and got all the guys. I don't even know how she got into Gryffindor, when she should be in Slytherin. And who would pay attention to boring ol' Jayden Lee Steele, a 4'11 bookworm with plain grey eyes and brown hair, when you could have "hot" Jennifer Rachel Steele, a 5'8 goddess with piercing light green eyes and dirty blonde hair? Nobody in their right mind. I read books all day while she partied with her other sixth year friends. I studied while she talked. I hated her.
Maybe it was time I showed her that I could be more than just a teacher's pet. Maybe I should go to the party. Yeah! It was time she learned that you didn't have to be Jennifer Steele in order to have a good time. So I stood up, confident and proud. And then I collapsed into a fit of laughter.
"Me? Go to a-a party?" I gasped between my laughs. What was I thinking? I sighed and shook my head. Anastasia grumbled at me and leapt off of the couch where we sat. She wandered up the dormitory steps and I slowly followed her to my room.
Merlin, I think I'll leave the partying to my sister. Besides, I could probably study some more for the quiz coming up in McGonagall's class. I threw myself onto the bed. Or I could go to sleep. That sounded like a good idea; I loved sleep. The one time when you didn't' have to worry about the outside world. It was peaceful. So there I sat, drifting off, when Anastasia hopped on top of me.
"Ugh." I shoved her off harshly. See? A pain. I was once again starting to drift off when she did the exact same thing. I sat up and gave her a death glare.
"Darn cat!" It was then that I noticed she was holding something. I gently pulled it away from her; it was a dark blue dress. I groaned.
"You're no help!" I think she was trying to kill my grades. But you're already done with everything! What harm could it do? I sighed and nodded.
"Alright Ana, you foul cat. I'll go." I quickly slipped out of my robes and threw the slim fitting dress on. Where did I even get this? I thought for about two seconds before I remembered. My father gave it to me. A few years after my mum died, when I was about five years old, he gave it to me. They had been much too large at the time, but fit perfectly now. He had said something about me looking just like my mother, much of it I couldn't' hear though, for he was drunk at the time. He said that they were my mum's when she was younger and since I looked just like her, I needed to have them. I didn't question him, it would only lead to a fight.
The dress was a dark blue, that matched perfectly with my hair. I sighed and ran to the bathroom to put some makeup on. And yes. I did own makeup, though many people would say differently. I just never used it. After only fifteen minutes; I was ready. I ran out of the common room and down the spiral staircase. Why did we have to have our common room at the top of a tower? Sure, we got a great view of the mountains, but still. I groaned, and wondered what I had gotten myself into.
!#$%^
I was standing at the door. The party was just beyond the thick wood that stood in front of me, yet I couldn't bring myself to open it. I tapped my foot, my high heels clicking as I did so. Sighing, I reached out and pushed the door that most likely led to my doom.
There was laughter everywhere, and people dancing to a record that was playing. It looked like everyone was here; even some first years had managed to sneak in. I could feel my palms begin to sweat, so I scuttled over to the punch. Hands shaking, I tried to stay hidden from the crowd. Unfortunately, it seemed that was not possible.
"Jayden Lee Steele. I do not believe this. Is this my imagination?" I knew the voice, oh Merlin, I knew it very well. I grimaced and turned around. My head was lowered as if I were a dog caught doing something wrong.
"Hi...Jennifer." I finally looked up at my sister. My face was sure to be a bright red, so I tried to calm myself down.
"Oh this is grand! My baby sister at a party!" She yelled out to everyone, as they turned watch us. "What, finally decide to abandon those stupid books? Nah, you probably just came here to report us to the professors." My face grew even more scarlet, but I did not try to stop her. I never tried to stop her. She smiled viciously at me.
"Is that why you came? Because I just can't believe that a smart ass bitch like you, would ever come to a party just to have; fun. I don't think that fun is even in your vocabulary, is it?" She put her hand on my shoulder and frowned.
"Now, I suggest you leave now, before you ruin this for everyone else." She smiled once again and motioned me towards the door. I looked around. And yes, everyone was staring at me. Some of the Ravenclaws looked shocked that I even came, and stood there with their mouths open. Several of the Gryffindors had looks of sympathy on their faces, but they didn't try to intervene.
I could feel tears starting to burn my eyes, and without another word, I bolted for the door. But before I could get very far, a hand stopped me. I didn't look up, I just closed my eyes and shook my head.
"Hey, are you alright?" It was only then that I looked up, and found myself staring into a pair of bright grey eyes. I nodded quickly. Then I noticed who he was, and nearly fainted dead to the floor. He was Cedric Diggory. He still held my arms gently in his own as he turned back to Jennifer.
"That was uncalled for, Jennifer. Maybe she is trying to have fun. And who are you to stop her? I think you should apologize. Now." His stern gaze seemed to unhinge her. It was disgusting how quickly she changed character. She smiled sweetly at him.
"Oh, Merlin you're right! I'm so sorry, little sister!" Only I could see the sarcasm hidden in her message. Along with being a slut, she was also a good liar. I glared at her, and tried to pull away from Cedric, but he held on tighter.
"It would be better if you meant it." Cedric shook his head. I was still trying to get free, and trying not to let him see the tears streaming down my face.
"Hey, forget about her. She's not worth crying over." He wiped the tears away, and I nodded slightly.
"T-thank y-you." He finally let go, and I started walking towards the door. My "fun" was over. I don't know why I ever thought that this was a good idea.
"Hey! Won't you stay?" His brown hair fell over his handsome features, and I shook my head.
"Oh, um...I just forgot, I have, um...homework." He laughed and raised one of his perfect brown eyebrows.
"I doubt it. But come on; just for a little while. If you really don't want to, then okay." He shrugged. I didn't know why it mattered so much to him, but I nodded slightly.
"Just for a little while." I walked back to the table to get myself some punch. I could hear him laughing behind me as I poured whatever drink they had into my cup. My sister had really annoyed me; she usually wasn't this awful.
"Oh, and by the way? You look nice." He smiled softly at me. I quickly turned back to the punch, my face beet red. Taking deep breaths I downed my drink and sighed.
What was I doing? I was at a party, all because of a stupid cat; Jayden Lee Steele was at a party. A definite change. But I wasn't quite sure if it was a change for the better or worse. I guess I just had to find out. I was cut out of my thoughts when a voice rang through the nosy atmosphere.
"Hey, are you alright?" I turned around and almost dropped my drink. It was Harry Potter.
"Uh, um, yeah? I mean, yes. I'm fine." I smiled unconvincingly, but then just shrugged it off. Oh well. Harry nodded and smiled in return. His green eyes seemed to shine when he talked, and I couldn't help but stare. This was Harry Potter. Everyone knew him, and he was talking to me.
"I haven't seen you around before, Jayden, right?" I nodded.
"I guess I don't have to ask your name." He grimaced slightly.
"Yeah..." He frowned and glanced towards the floor and, not wanting to make his mood any worse, changed the subject quickly.
"Well, it was nice meeting you, Harry. Maybe I'll see you around sometime." I waved and walked away. This night was getting more and more confusing by the minute. But it was awesome.
A/N: Sorry for spitting out random stories all of a sudden, I just felt the urge to publish every single story on my computer :) Tell me what you think it!