Chapter Two
Of Opposite Twins and Insults
Jayna threw open the compartment next to her and shut it hastily, waiting until the three, understandably angry Slytherins; she had just hit them all with a bat-bogey hex while receiving nothing herself (while athletics was hardly her strong point strategy was, and so it had been quite simple to just hide behind a corner until they'd gone into her line of sight), went into the next carriage to turn around and apologise to the stunned students behind her.
The apology died on her lips as she took in the two Gryffindors. While still stunned they were hardly innocent firsties like that Lien girl. Ugh she smiled too much.
James Sirius Potter and his best friend Sam Andrews were staring at her with identically bemused expressions despite their completely opposite appearances. James' untameable black hair fell into his deep brown eyes in the casual way that she knew meant he'd spent ages perfecting. His black robes were pristine and were obviously made especially for him but were discarded on the seat next to him along with his tie. Instead he'd shrugged a red and gold jumper over the top of his shirt (which was missing the top two buttons anyway, not that you could see), an item of clothing that most people reserved for Quidditch matches only, which was just about concealing his collar so that the teachers would be unable to tell him off for not wearing the tie. He had fawn-coloured skin that highlighted yet another difference between the two Potter brothers; when they went on holiday James planned never to go inside; Albus planned never to have left in the first place.
Sam Andrews, on the other hand, was first and foremost a girl. She had long, white-blonde hair that reached her waist, but she kept it tied up in a ponytail with a pencil most of the time, although she was known for letting it loose occasionally, and icy-blue eyes so pale they almost blended with the white surrounding them. She should have been the girl that every boy lusted after and the most feminine, possibly French and should have gone to Beauxbatons. Instead she was James Potter's best-friend and a complete tom-boy from the rough end of Manchester with a Gryffindor tie to boot, although it hung limply round her neck instead of being tied properly. She'd put on her robes but Charmed the inside of them Gryffindor red, and she was wearing black trousers instead of the more popular skirt. Both of them, however, were identifiable by their matching black converses that they refused to swap for normal school shoes, despite the staff's protests, and had scored a total of eleven detentions for them before the teachers had given up.
Their bemusement slowly died replaced with smirks.
"Sorry, I just hexed some Slytherins and would really prefer not to have the retaliation." Jayna hoped her statement came off as blasé and not squeaky.
"Why in Merlin's name did you hex some Slytherins?" Asked Sam, curiously. Stupid Gryffindors. Stupid Muggleborns. No wait, I didn't mean that. It's not her fault; it's yours. It's not her fault; it's yours. It's not her fault; it's yours.
"What do you mean by 'you'?"
"Well, no offence Blackwood, but you seem kind of uptight." Answered James. It was rather creepy the way they spoke for each other. Jayna found herself making a mental note of the first words James had ever spoken to her before stopping herself angrily.
"How is that not offensive?" She pointed out. "But I concede to your point and will try to make a better impression of myself in future. However, I'm still not going to answer your question." They blinked.
"Fair enough." They chorused. "Hey, Blackwood, what's with the rings?" James asked jokingly. Jayna's hand flew to her right ring finger where two thick gold bands rested, one slightly wider than the other. Sam bit her lip and stamped on James' foot, hard.
"If you'll excuse me." The Ravenclaw darted back into the corridor.
"What the Hell was that for?" James yelped. James had adopted the Muggle way of swearing much preferring it over 'Merlin' related cursing.
"Merlin James; they're wedding rings!" Sam had adopted wizard curses, much preferring it over her original Muggle way.
"So… She's getting married?" He asked, even more confused than ever. Sam hit him on the head with her rolled-up copy of the Daily Prophet.
"No, you dipshit," Though she had to admit that Muggles had been more inventive, "they're her parents' rings." He blinked and then his expression cleared and his cheeks coloured with shame.
"Oh."
"Yeah." Sam agreed, unrolling the paper and placing it on her lap.
"That was a bit insensitive." Sam shrugged, flicking through the pages nonchalantly.
"Eh, I don't think she'll mind."
"And why's that?" James asked desperately. While both of them were immature and enjoyed a laugh at another's expense, neither enjoyed others' pain, and what Jayna had been through that summer was painful enough without random Gryffindors infringing on it.
"She likes you." Sam said. It was not in a jealous or smirking way but more of one stating a fact.
"Really?" Immediately, worry over Jayna's feelings was forgotten. It was unfortunate, but teenagers do not need to think beyond themselves and that right should be given to them for as long as they can hold onto it, because once they let it go they'll never get it back.
"Yes."
"Hmm… You think I have a chance with her?" Sam chortled loudly.
"No!"
"But you said she liked me!"
"And she does. Doesn't mean you have any chance with her at all."
"Bloody Hell, girls are weird." Sam shrugged again in agreement and then pulled out a dungbomb from her trunk.
"No way is Jayna Blackwood getting a better prank on the Slytherins than us."
"Agreed." James said with a smirk.
Lydjah sighed in relief as Jayna tapped her on the shoulder, pulling her head out of the sixth years' compartment without replying to the people inside.
"I don't get how you can just talk to anyone." Jayna interrupted what Lydjah was about to say.
"Immense skill of mine. Now, what happened with your- those Slytherins?" Jayna shrugged.
"Got bored of their taunts, hit them with a Bat-Bogey hex each then ducked into James Potter's compartment." Lydjah wasn't sure which part of that sentence she was most interested in as they walked back to their own compartment.
"What did they say? All three at the same time? And James Potter's compartment?!" Jayna managed a smile at her friend's enthusiasm.
"They said the usual. No point going into that. No; I just rapid fired them; hid behind the corner between carriages you see. And yes; James Potter's compartment. Sam was there too."
"Well of course she was. What happened?" While she didn't exactly squeal excitedly, gossiping about James Potter was a normal past time for most of the girls in the school. Like his namesakes, James lived up to the expectation that his Uncle George had set him in causing as much havoc without getting caught as humanly possible. His only detentions were for not handing in homework; which happened most of the time, and for the converses, despite all of the teachers knowing almost every prank was down to him and Sam. No-one was quite sure how they did it and everyone speculated. This was, of course, not the only reason for the gossip as every girl or boy who wasn't blind to the ways of looks could see that James was going to be gorgeous, if he wasn't already. The same could be said of Sam but, as the majority of gossip came from heterosexual girls, she wasn't lingered on as much.
"Not much. I said something along the lines of 'I hexed some Slytherins and didn't want the retaliation' he asked why I, of all people, was duelling being an uptight cow-"
"He said you were a cow?"
"No. He implied that I was a cow when he said I was uptight." She said frowning. Lydjah burst out laughing.
"Jayna he only has one lesson with you."
"I am aware." Painfully aware.
"And that class is?"
"Defence Against the Dark Arts." She rattled off immediately. Their timetables she supposed would change this year but last year that had been their only class together. Lydjah made a 'carry-on' gesture with her hand. Jayna just raised her eyebrows.
"Jayna have you seen yourself in DADA?"
"Surprisingly no." She replied sarcastically.
"Well then, I shall have to inform you of the way you basically bounce on the edge of your seat and answer every question in perfect Queen's English. Or of the way your notes are precise and immaculately taken down or how I have never seen you smile or talk out of turn ever in that class."
"Really?" Jayna couldn't decide whether to be impressed at her own dedication or mortified that she looked like such a swot.
"Yes." Lydjah laughed. "No wonder he thinks you're uptight; you act like a snobby rocket-scientist in Defence."
"A 'rocket-scientist'?"
"Muggle job." Lydjah said shortly, gauging her reaction. Apart from the skin around her eyes tightening ever so slightly she seemed no different. Lydjah held back a sigh of relief. They reached the compartment where a ginger first year was now sat with their short caramel-haired companion.
"Well this is new."