CHAPTER 2
A Mad, New World
After the feast, all Gryffindors were taken up to their dormitories. Jessie was somewhat nervous as to how she will adjust to the new environment, the new people, to complete strangers. Nevertheless, she was determined to put her anxieties to rest, and explore what Hogwarts would bring in her life. Their prefect, a blonde haired girl with chocolate brown eyes, and a willowy built, welcomed them to the house, "Welcome to Gryffindor, first years. I'm your prefect, Audrey Clearwater. First, let me tell you something about our house. In this house, we have nurtured great, noble and brave witches and wizards. The other houses do consider us as show-offs, but what they do not realise is that we have something to show-off about." There was a collective laugh. "However, despite the fact that some Gryffindors may be like that, but rest assured, we are a really friendly lot. Gryffindors are up for help always, and have a knack for adventure and believe in defending the defenceless. Gryffindors have an aptitude for Quidditch, Defence against the Dark Arts, and Transfiguration. Gryffindors value courage, bravery, chivalry, and honour above all. That's why our house has produced exceptionally brave wizards and witches like Professor Dumbledore. Yes, our own headmaster was in this very house. Our emblem, the lion very clearly depicts the qualities of a Gryffindor. Consider yourself lucky, you are in the best house at Hogwarts! Girls, your dormitories are to the right, boys to the left." when she finished, Jessie turned to her right, having spotted a movement of vibrant red hair. "Hello, I'm Jessie" she spoke to her and held out her hand for her to shake. "Hi, I'm Lily" replied the redhead.
Soon after settling into their dorm, Jessie and Lily started chatting up. She got to know that Lily was a muggleborn, lived in Cokeworth, and had a sister. Lily got to know that Jessie was a half blood, her dad came from an all-Wizarding Indian family, and her mum was a Muggle from the same country, while Jessie was born in London.
Apparently, Jessie loved describing her atypical origins. She went on about how she had a Greek surname, one that her father, a wizard trader who travelled alot, developed a fancy for, and passed onto her, since he thought they were very much alike. Her younger sister, who was non-magic, lived with her mother back in India, and Jessie spent most of her time there, with them, and knew little about the magic world. Just as she was cracking a joke about how much of a ruckus she caused while at home, they were interrupted by a loud bang.
Everyone in the dorm went silent. Marlene McKinnon, a girl with golden hair, and blue-grey eyes, hugged onto her toy unicorn very tightly. Not knowing what else to do, Jessie fished around in her trunk for her wand, even though she didn't know a single spell, she very carefully got out of her dorm, ignoring the protests of her dorm mates, wand clutched in her hand in a death grip, she looked around for any probable source of the noise.
BANG. This one resonated louder, and closer than the one before. Jessie whipped around, a little scared, but determined to investigate further. Behind her, stood two of her dorm mates, Lily Evans, and another girl with raven black hair and sparkling blue eyes. Jessie knew her name from the sorting ceremony, she was Astéria Mist. Jessie held a finger to her lips, and moved ahead. The two girls, equally scared but determined, followed suit. Soon enough, the Common Room was spilling with confused students, most of them around their age, all in their pyjamas, looking for the source of the noise.
BANG! BANG! KA-BOOM! It occurred to Lily that the noises were coming from the boys' dorm nearest to theirs; she quietly tiptoed up the staircase that would lead them there, Jessie and Astéria at her heels. They creaked open the door, just enough to peep inside, and saw two boys with black hair blasting some sort of Wizarding firecracker, and laughing to themselves. They had singed off bits from the curtains, and three other boys were frantically trying to douse the now non-existent flame, having poured all their water jugs over the singed curtains. Jessie recognised all but one; for they were the ones she had shared a train compartment with earlier the very same day.
The dorm was a mess. Clothes strewn here and there, the carpet, sizzling from having been burnt had a hole of the size of a football right in its centre, making the marble flooring beneath visible, and a horrible smell of burnt sulphur. "Dungbombs! I can't believe this!" Astéria muttered, barely audible. Just as they were about to enter the boys' dorm, another bang startled them, Jessie slipped on the doormat, falling over Lily and Astéria, making them trample over each other, and fall rather unceremoniously into the room, banging the door against the wall, with a resounding noise because of their combined weight. The three girls were a mess of tangled limbs; they soon composed themselves, standing up straight.
"What's all the noise for?" Astéria said, making a face.
"Excuse me, how dare you enter our dorm without permission?" demanded Sirius Black.
"You bozos shouldn't have left the door unlocked then." She replied haughtily.
"Miss I-Don't-Know-Your-Name please go away, we're trying to have some fun." He replied equally haughtily.
"Well, your fun is disturbing our much required sleep. Now what do we have here," she said, inspecting their pack of Dungbombs. "Dungbombs, is it? Huh, Amateurs." She commented, dropping a bomb carelessly back into the pack.
"Dare you call us amateurs, what do you know about having fun? Girls." Sirius rolled his eyes, earning some laughter from his friends, except Remus.
"Whatever. Not like it's worth the time I'm wasting on your tomfoolery, just stop with this, people are trying to sleep." She said disinterestedly, and moved to exit the dorm.
Meanwhile, Jessie and Lily helped Remus, Peter and another boy in their dorm, Adam, clean up chucking the half burnt carpet under a bed, folding up the curtains burnt from their ends, but leaving the ones burnt in the middle or too high for them to reach.
After they were done, Lily and Jessie bid Remus, Peter and Adam goodnight, warned James and Sirius not to burst more Dungbombs, lest they complain a prefect, and retired to their dorm.
"What was going on?" Marlene asked.
"A few boys were bursting Dungbombs for fun, bunch of duffers." Astéria informed her, huffing and rolling her eyes.
"A menace they are." commented Lily.
"I second that." said Astéria.
"I'll just go to sleep." Jessie managed to utter between a yawn, and dropped to the pillow, instantly falling asleep.
But before she could enter the Land of Dreams, Jessie though that she had made a friend, and had witnessed what she could call fun and a spot of adventure. For the first time, in a life time, Jessie slept so peacefully, that Contentment itself envied her.