The clamouring mass of anxious year sevens huddling on the busy platform annoyed Jacinto as she hurried onto the steaming Hogwarts Express, dragging her battered trunk after her. She had to constantly remind herself that it was only their first day and they were allowed to be afraid and worried and that she'd once been one of them herself but they still wound her up.
Eleven year old miseries were far less pressing than her own.
Frowning, she threw herself into the first empty compartment she saw, ignoring her fellow classmates' jubilant cheers and scattered boos. Why were they still so impressed by her play in the Quidditch match last year?
She sighed, stowing her trunk away in the corner of the compartment and gently placing her family's beautiful tawny gold owl on top of the table. It had been a well done present for passing her end of year exams with such high marks and revered praise from her teachers. The day she got her results back, her parents, beaming with pride, dragged her to Diagon Alley to buy her her first ever owl. Money had been tight in recent years, especially with the such deep uncertainty over the dark arts in society, but her parents were happy to pay extra for an owl that was excellently bred and held in such high esteem.
Jacinto's thoughts were disturbed by the arrival of her friend, Henry Garcia, already dressed as impeccably as ever in his pristine Ravenclaw robes. His sky blue and silver tie was straight, his pull-over jumped looked brand new and his black shoes appeared perfectly polished.
"Hey," he said loudly, a hint of Spanish more evident in his accent than ever before. Perhaps he'd returned to his extended family in Spain, Jacinto thought, taking in his deep blue eyes, caramel skin and oak brown hair. He looked far happier and fresher than he had on the last day of term. "How was the summer?"
"Boring as usual," she answered, watching as he slid the compartment door shut and quickly wheeled his trunk to a free space next to Jacinto's. "Did you get the homework done for Transfiguration?"
He sat down, exhaling deeply. "Ah, the homework. There may have been a case of accidental...er...well, let's just say my owl wasn't a goblet, but rather an extremely hairless hamster."
She grinned. "I'm intrigued."
"I know you are!" he smiled softly. "I have no idea how to change poor Rowan back and neither did any of my cousins in Madrid. Puh-lease," and he placed huge emphasis on the 'puh', "please can you figure it out for me? I'm very fond of my owl. And I'm sure you'd like some chocolates to start your Quidditch training off."
"Ah, well, who said I was doing Quidditch this year?" she asked, her tone distinctly annoyed.
Henry towered over her, his muscular arms folded across his wide chest. He was biting his cheek. "You're not joining the team for fifth year? But you won Slytherin the House Cup!"
"People won't stop talking about the match! Yes, I know I kicked Jonas in the balls but-"
He interrupted her calmly. "They'll only carry on talking about it if you drop the team this year. I know, for a fact, that a certain Professor Williams made you Quidditch Captain. You're the youngest Captain in years!" he said. "And just think about it. There's a new girl starting tonight in our year so if she chooses to try out, you might get the opportunity to see how she is and-"
"Yeah, that's assuming if she is Slytherin," she said, clenching her fists. Remembering who she was, she released her hands and breathed in. "I'm sorry. Where's Rowan? I'll do my best with him."
Henry grinned. "Thanks. A lot! I owe you a bar of Honeydukes' finest! Just sleep on it, okay? Anyway, speaking of fifth year in a very roundabout way, I may or may not have convinced Isaac to go on a date with me."
Jacinto gasped in excitement. Isaac had been Henry's crush since their third year and for him to finally say yes was fantastic news! "This is amazing! So what did you say to persuade the dude? Honeydukes, was it? Or maybe a weekend trip to Spain?"
He shook his head, offering a severely overweight hamster with several balding spots to her. "He said he'll take me to the kitchens so we can bake cakes together. I'm actually really looking forward to it. I've never made cakes before but he said they're easy so...who knows?"
Jacinto smiled, adjusting her shirt. "Awh! It'll be fun, I've made loads before! Didn't Isaac say his parents were chefs?"
"Oh yeah, of course! Ah, at least he knows how to cook. I'm still burning toast. And I'm fifteen," he said exasperatingly. He stood up and stretched. "I think we're about to leave. Where's everyone else, do you reckon?"
She shrugged her shoulders and pointed her wand at Rowan. He squeaked in obvious panic, clawing at his bald patches with fear and anxiety. "Quasi strutionum!" she muttered quietly. Dark green sparks soared out of her own, encircling the hamster but he remained unchanged. "Mutatio!"
There was a muffled bang behind Jacinto. She yelped in fright and misdirected her spell. A red glimmer of light shot out the carriage window, shattering the glass panel. There were screams outside, in the corridor and someone was bellowing hoarse insults, just as the train lurched forwards.
"What the hell!" Henry yelled, leaping to his feet and throwing the door open. The hamster scrabbled at the table in fright, whimpering at the deafening noises. Jacinto felt a pang of pity for the terrified creature and picked him up, bundling him up in her pocket. "What's going on?" the burly fifth year Ravenclaw demanded, his short blackthorn wand materialising in his hand.
Someone roared "Mudblood!" down the corridor.
"Oh, shit," Jacinto muttered, barging past Henry, her wand raised in front of her. Terrified first years were running past, tears running down their faces, clutching their ribs. They were in fear for their lives. "Henry, you deal with the first years, I'll find out what's going on," she said, forming a defensive plan in her mind. "Protego!" she whispered, casting a protective shield around Henry and the young students. One girl, with a pink band in her hair, was in tears. She looked so shaken up.
"But-" Henry started to protest. Jacinto stared him down. "First years, stay with me, okay! We're going to sort this out, but all of you, just stay by me. I can keep you safe if you're within two metres of me!"
Jacinto nodded and hurried forward, listening to more vicious insults. She was afraid for what, or who, she might find when she got there but she needed to help.
Another bang sounded, this time much louder and closer.
Her heart was fiercely pounding in her mouth. Blood was rushing around in her ears and she struggled to hear what the seventh-year was saying. But she could guess the profanities issuing out of his mouth all right. She'd heard them often enough before.
He was well built for seventeen, his arms sinewy and defined. The muscles rippled under his white shirt, pinning the girl to the wall. She looked about fifteen or sixteen, with curly light brown hair. The seventh-year was already wearing his Slytherin robes, a gleaming Head Boy badge pinned to his chest with pride. Jacinto recognised him as Mullard, the thick-headed bully who terrorised young girls who he felt dressed too inappropiately for the Wizarding world. Essentially, if you didn't meet his standards and appeared too much like a Muggle, he'd beat you up.
Well, he was also a homophobic asshole too, in Jacinto's opinion.
Mullard had brutally attacked Henry before, using her best friend as a verbal and physical punching bag in previous years. The Head Boy had even encouraged other Slytherin students to attack him too and to call him 'faggot' whenever possible. It had been savagely unprovoked and Mullard had only stopped when he saw that Henry was under Jacinto's protection. And he absolutely refused to do anything that harmed Slytherin's Quidditch hero.
"Mullard," she said, glaring at him.
The wizard's crooked nose gleamed with sweat, his black hair draped over his soulless grey eyes and his malicious mouth was a snarl. "Say it, bitch. Say it!" The girl quivered with fear, her throat red with claw marks.
"Mullard!" Jacinto yelled.
He stared at her with these relentless empty eyes of his. "Jacinto," he said with an unmistakable air of authority. "Here to help me, are you? Or to protect this Mudblood scum like you do with that disgusting faggot of yours?"
She stared at him unbelievingly. He was even more arrogant and cocky than last year. And he had no right to insult Henry.
The girl's jade green eyes met hers pleadingly. They were brimming with tears.
And so hauntingly beautiful, a voice inside of Jacinto whispered.
"Would you mind letting her go? Attacking a transfer student is explicitly forbidden and it'll cost you more than your Head Boy badge," she said loudly. "I don't fancy not having you on the Quidditch team for your last year."
Mullard's eyes widened in horror. "You're the Quidditch Captain?"
"Yes. Surprised?" she demanded. "Put her down and I'll consider keeping you on as Keeper. I don't do favouritism but I might bend my own rules for you."
"What else is in it for me? A kiss?" he spat out his demand with triumph. "Perhaps a night with you?"
She swallowed. Kissing Mullard would be disgusting and a night with him would completely and utterly destroy her. Not to mention that it would also socially degrade her and shatter her best friend's view of her. She wasn't an object, so why was she even considering prostitution to get the girl released from Mullard's grasp?
"I don't fancy you, Mullard," she said slowly. "Get that filthy idea out of your head. But, if you let the girl go, I will talk to Fontaine for you. And maybe even set you up with her."
The offer was up in the air. She knew he had feelings for Fontaine, a sixth year who was actually quite decent looking.
"You will?" he asked. There was a tremor in his brash voice which signalled that he was interested.
She nodded. "I'll even keep you on the Quidditch team if you want."
He let the girl go and she collapsed to the floor in a broken heap. He tossed her a look as he sauntered out, his nose firmly stuck in the air. "See to it."
Jacinto rushed to the girl's side, placing her palms on her face. "Hey there. Are you okay?" She pushed her face closer and used her fingers to brush the hair out of her shocked green eyes. "I'm Jace," she said.
The girl shivered and Jacinto wrapped her coat around her, checking her for any obvious injuries. There were none and that was a relief in itself. Mullard was gone but he could return at any second.
The fifteen year old leant forwards and placed her lips firmly on Jacinto's.