A/N: Woo, aren't you lucky, two chapters in one day! I started to write a bit of chapter 4 and turns out I finished it, so here you go. Please read and review.
Disclaimer: Sadly, all HP characters belong to JK Rowling. But any you don't recognize are mine.
Jasmine woke up the next morning to find Ginny still asleep. Light had begun to filter in through the thin white curtains; it was obviously going to be another hot summer day.
She sat up wearily, rubbing her eyes. Lowering her hands, she saw black smudges on them; she hadn't bothered to remove her make up before she went to bed. Her hair was tangled and messy and her head ached dully. She was still fully clothed. Her duvet lay discarded on the floor; evidently she had kicked it off in the night.
"Jaz?" came Hermione's timid voice.
She looked up; Hermione was sitting up in bed, a book open in her hands, looking concernedly at Jasmine.
"Yeah?" Jasmine said hoarsely.
"Are you okay? We didn't see you last night."
"Mmm. I was tired, I came straight to bed," she said. It was partly true.
"Oh, okay then." Her face brightened. "Ooh, how did it go with that boy? Matt?"
The memories came flooding back to Jasmine, and she closed her eyes.
"Erm...okay. Yeah, it was good," she lied, not wanting to go into detail.
"Sirius said you seemed a bit angry when you came in. I came up to see you but you were asleep."
"Nah, I was fine," Jasmine said. "Just tired."
"Oh, okay then," Hermione said, looking at her watch. "Shall we go and have lunch?"
"Lunch?! What time is it?"
"One o'clock."
Jasmine sighed. "Mmm, okay."
She dragged herself out of bed and removed her skirt, pulling on a pair of faded jeans. Her head was still aching, and she groaned, holding a hand to her forehead.
"Headache?" Hermione asked sympathetically.
"Hangover," Jasmine moaned, dragging a brush through her hair. Hermione raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
A loud, high-pitched shriek of laughter sounded from downstairs.
"Oh God," Jasmine groaned. "That woman isn't here again, is she?"
Hermione nodded, looking puzzled. "Why? Don't you like her?"
"No," Jasmine said frankly.
"Why not?"
"Oh, I don't know," Jasmine sighed. "I'm sure she's perfectly nice, but she just irritates me. Always looking down her nose at me."
She walked into the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water, followed by Hermione, who stood in the doorway.
"Oh my God," Jasmine said, on seeing her reflection in the mirror above the sink. "I look like shit."
Jasmine knew that lunch would not be a pleasant affair the minute she heard Hestia's laugh as she opened the kitchen door. However, she was starving and didn't want to disappoint Mrs Weasley, who Hermione said had prepared a lavish lunch for everyone. The smell of roast chicken was too tempting to resist.
Jasmine walked into the kitchen, seeing everyone gathered around the table. Mrs Weasley was poised, ready to carve a large chicken that sat in the centre, surrounded by dishes of vegetables.
"Jasmine, dear!" she exclaimed, rushing over to her. "Are you feeling okay? You haven't eaten since lunchtime yesterday!"
Jasmine smiled weakly. "I'm fine, thanks, Mrs Weasley."
"Well, that's good. Here you go." She shepherded Jasmine into a chair between Sirius and Lupin. Looking up, Jasmine was sorry to find herself sitting opposite Hestia.
"Good morning," Hestia remarked sardonically, helping herself to roast potatoes. Jasmine ignored her, reaching for the carrots.
"Jaz, were you okay last night?" Harry asked. She smiled, nodding.
"Yeah, just tired," she said, vaguely aware of Hestia and Sirius staring at her. She felt slightly guilty about snapping at Sirius the previous night; after all, he had done nothing wrong. Maybe she would apologise to him later.
Her gaze fell on Lupin, who was waiting patiently for the potatoes. He had dark circles under his eyes and looked rather pale. It was then that she remembered that the previous night had been the full moon. Duh, she said to herself. You looked at it for ages in the park when you were lying on your back in the bushes!
"Are you okay?" she asked him quietly. She had always admired the way Lupin dealt with his horrific transformations; he never complained or made a fuss, always putting others above himself. He looked slightly taken aback by her concern, but smiled faintly.
"Yes, thanks," he said.
"Mum, George and I need to go to Diagon Alley," Fred said loudly.
"Not today, Fred," Mrs Weasley said, piling chicken onto his plate.
Fred and George looked outraged; they opened their mouths to protest, but a stern glare from Mrs Weasley silenced them. "There's an Order meeting today, so there'll be no one to go with you."
"Not all day there isn't!" George protested. Mrs Weasley ignored him, and he seemed to realize it was pointless to argue. It didn't stop him from shooting a dark glance at Fred, however. Jasmine wondered what they were planning, and found herself displaying a strong likeness to Hermione when she asked herself if she really wanted to know.
"Jaaaasmine," Fred called loudly. Jasmine, who had just entered her room and was searching for her book, turned round. Fred and George were marching up the stairs, clutching their wands as if they were weapons.
"Prithee, come join us in the attic," George said.
"Yeah, it's not the same without you blowing things up," Fred smirked.
"Are you sure you really want me there?" She smiled wryly.
"'Course we do. Nothing like ruining the attic to brighten our day," Fred said, beckoning her.
Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry were already there when Jasmine, Fred and George entered the attic.
"Ooh, good, you're here," Ginny said, looking up at them. "Listen, we think we should listen in on the meeting this evening. Mum and Dad were whispering a lot at lunch; we think it might be important."
"Also, lots of people have turned up. Kingsley, Emmeline Vance, Daedelus Diggle, Hestia – "
"Hestia's nearly always here though, lately," Fred pointed out.
"Luckily for Ron," Ginny smirked.
Ron turned pink and threw a book at her. Hermione rolled her eyes.
"Why do you need to go to Diagon Alley, by the way?" Harry asked George.
Instantly, his and Fred's faces both broke into identical grins.
"New project," he beamed.
"Very exciting," Fred agreed.
"Would you care to enlighten us?" Jasmine asked.
"All in good time, my dear, all in good time," George said, patting her on the head.
"You're not going to make anyone naked again, are you?" asked Hermione apprehensively.
"Oh no," Fred grinned. "So much better than that."
Suddenly, Jasmine's phone rang.
"Hello?" she answered, raising the phone to her ear. "Oh, hey. Yeah. Tonight?" She frowned, biting her lip. "I don't know, I – oh, okay then...yeah. The park? Well, er...okay, yeah, if you want. Bye."
She hung up, looking slightly remorseful. Not again...
"Who was it?" Harry asked.
"Jack," she said.
"Who's Jack?" Fred asked, sitting down by the bed and throwing a Dungbomb into the air absent-mindedly.
"Just a boy I know," Jasmine said, pocketing the phone. She looked around the room, searching for something to say. "Well, the meeting's on in a few hours, so I suggest we help you two," - she gestured to Fred and George - "with one of your crazy ideas, and then go and listen in."
"I'm telling you, Minerva, there's nothing we can do!" Sirius said hotly. "We've tried everything!"
"We're going to have to do something, Sirius, or there'll be twenty escaped murderers running around here!" McGonagall said angrily.
"But what you're suggesting is absurd!" Sirius replied incredulously. "What makes you think the Dementors would even listen to us? What makes you think they wouldn't just swoop down on us and – "
"Sirius, calm down," Lupin said softly, putting a hand on his shoulder.
"Minerva, I understand your concern," Snape said, "but Azkaban security has proved sufficient so far. Even if a prisoner managed to break out of his cell, there are Anti-Disapparition Jinxes – "
"How do we know they can't be broken?" McGonagall cut in sharply. "These prisoners are followers of You-Know-Who himself, for heaven's sake! I'm sure they're able to push aside a small barrier like an Anti-Disapparition Jinx!"
"To be fair, Minerva, the Jinxes did seem to keep the Death Eaters contained in the Department of Mysteries," Arthur Weasley pointed out evenly.
There was a silence, in which McGonagall sighed heavily.
"But even if they don't Disapparate," Tonks said, "they could attack the guards!"
"The guards are superb Aurors," Kingsley said. "It is doubtful that they would not survive a Death Eater attack."
"Trained a few of 'em myself," Moody growled.
"That hardly makes them invincible!" McGonagall said sharply. "If – "
"Minerva, the guards outnumber the Death Eaters five to one," Kingsley said soothingly. "And besides, backup can be sent to Azkaban in a heartbeat."
"Can we get back to the original subject of this meeting?" asked Sirius impatiently, leaning back on his chair.
"Yes," said Arthur Weasley, rustling some papers. "Bellatrix Lestrange."
"Ah yes," Snape said silkily, "your dear cousin, Black."
Sirius' chair came crashing back to the ground. He glowered at Snape as if he would have liked nothing more than to smash his fist into Snape's face. Fortunately, he refrained from doing so.
"She is nothing to do with me!" he snarled angrily. Snape merely sneered at him.
"Severus! Sirius!" McGonagall said angrily. "We are here to discuss a highly important matter, and we don't need you two behaving like children!"
There was a brief pause.
"Severus, if you'd like to pick up where we left off?"
Snape cleared his throat. "Well, as I have said, Bellatrix is now closely guarded by the Dark Lord," he said. "It seems she has become a personal favourite of his, and he is aware of the fact that someone will be seeking to avenge Black's death."
"But I – " Sirius began.
"He is unaware," Snape interrupted, "of the fact that Black is alive, and obviously it would be extremely unwise to let such information fall into his hands. Dumbledore has therefore requested that Black remain at Headquarters until further notice."
"What?!" Sirius exclaimed furiously, sitting bolt upright and staring at Snape.
"He believes it would be unwise to let the Dark Lord know that you are alive," Snape repeated, his upper lip curled in a sneer, "in case he attempted to use you in one of his plans; as bait for your dear godson, for example."
"I don't believe this!" Sirius exclaimed angrily, banging his fist on the table.
"Sirius – " Hestia tried to reason with him, but was cut off.
"NO! I WILL NOT BE LOCKED UP INSIDE THIS HOUSE AGAIN!" Sirius shouted, standing up, his face contorted in fury.
"Then you are putting Harry in very great danger!" Lupin shouted suddenly, standing up and facing him. Sirius was shocked; Lupin never lost his temper. He knew he should sit down and be sensible, but rage was coursing through him like poison.
"I AM NOT GOING TO SIT BACK AND LET EVERYONE ELSE DO THE FIGHTING!" he shouted feverishly, shoving his chair back under the table and stalking out of the room. "FORGET IT!"
Outside the kitchen door, Fred, George, Jasmine, Ginny, Hermione, Ron and Harry scrambled frantically to free themselves from the tangle of Extendable Ears before Sirius could emerge from the other side.
"Quick!" Ginny hissed, darting into the nearest doorway – the study. The others stumbled in after her, Jasmine nearly smashing the bottle of butterbeer she was holding, just as Sirius appeared through the kitchen door. His face was twisted in fury and he slammed the door behind him, stamping angrily towards the living room.
"Oh dear..." Hermione said anxiously. "Do you think he's alright?"
"Judging by the yelling and the door-slamming, I think it's safe to say he's not," George said, peering round the corner as Sirius disappeared into the living room.
"I can't believe Dumbledore would do that to him again," Harry said.
"I'll go and see if he's okay," Jasmine said. Ignoring the others' dissuasion, she strode down the hallway to the living room, still clutching her half-empty bottle of butterbeer. She felt sorry for Sirius, and hated seeing him lose his temper like that.
He was standing in the middle of the room, with his back to her, staring out of the window into the empty street outside.
"Hi," Jasmine said.
He didn't even acknowledge her presence; he just kept staring out of the window.
"Are you okay?"
"What do you think?" he snapped.
"Look, Sirius, I – "
"No! Please, just leave me alone, Jasmine."
She was taken aback; she knew he was angry, but yelling at her wasn't going to solve anything.
"No," she said stubbornly.
"What do you mean, 'no'?!" Sirius asked incredulously, turning around to face her. "I won't ask you again! Just leave me alone!"
"Why?" she asked steadily. "So you can sit here and feel sorry for yourself?"
"This is none of your business!" he shouted angrily.
"I don't care! I was just trying to be nice and see if you were okay!" Jasmine shouted back.
"Well I don't want you to! Just go away!" Sirius yelled, turning away again.
"Fine," she said coolly. "But you should grow up and stop taking it out on me. It's not my fault you have to stay here."
And with that, she stalked out of the door, leaving Sirius standing in the middle of the room feeling worse than he had before. It wasn't the fact that he had shouted at Jasmine that bothered him, or the fact that she had walked out on him. It was the fact that she had been right.
Jasmine slammed the door behind her, only to see Hestia standing there, her red lips pursed inquisitively. Obviously she had also decided to see if Sirius was okay.
"I wouldn't bother if I were you," Jasmine said irritably, full of anger at Sirius. "He's in a foul mood."
Hestia gave her a disdainful look.
"I think what Sirius needs right now is some adult advice," she said, raising her eyebrows. "The last thing he needs is an unrestrained teenager verbally abusing him."
Jasmine opened her mouth in outrage, but Hestia had already slipped into the living room. After waiting a few seconds, she was incensed to see that Sirius did not shout at Hestia and tell her to leave him alone.
She felt as if someone had just lit a firework in her head. How dare he?!
"FINE THEN!" Jasmine screamed, hurling the bottle of butterbeer at the door. It smashed into hundreds of pieces, splattering liquid over the hallway. The sight of it trickling down the white surface calmed her slightly, and she leaned back against the wall, closing her eyes and trying to block everything out. She could feel blood pounding in her ears, and willed herself to be calm as she stared at the blackness behind her eyelids.
"Jaz?" Harry said, approaching her cautiously. "What happened?"
Feeling strangely drained, Jasmine opened her eyes. She shook her head.
"Nothing," she said. "I'm just overreacting."
"What did he say?" Hermione asked. "Scourgify." The glass and butterbeer disappeared.
"He wouldn't listen," Jasmine said.
"Sirius, you mustn't let it get to you," Hestia said soothingly, resting a calming hand on his shoulder. "You have every right to be angry."
Sirius was silent, his anger slowly evaporating.
"Especially with that girl," Hestia continued. "You mustn't let some self- righteous teenager get you worked up like this."
Sirius sighed, realizing she was right. Of course he had a right to take it out on Jasmine! After all, she had come barging in trying to tell him what to do!
"Just ignore it. They're all the same – all think they know best."
She sighed sympathetically. Sirius nodded.
Jasmine couldn't possibly understand. She had probably only come to see him out of guilt for snapping at him the night before. Hestia was right – she was just a silly little girl. He closed his eyes, glad that he was seeing sense. He felt the last of his anger ebb away as he looked up at Hestia, thankful that she was there to help reason with him.
Jasmine lay on Fred's bed in the attic, her head resting on her arms. Normally she would have been talking animatedly along with the others, but she felt distant and miserable since her encounter with Sirius and Hestia. Instead she listened vaguely to the conversation, her eyes closed. It had been going on for about an hour.
"Do you think maybe Dumbledore has another reason?" Hermione was saying.
"Like what?" Ron said.
"I don't know..." said Hermione. "But I find it hard to believe that he'd do that to Sirius again without a good reason."
"He'd better have one," Harry said darkly.
"Poor old Sirius," George said. "Maybe we should take him some Cheering Chews, Fred."
Fred nodded. "Or some Feverish Fudge."
"Or we could let Hestia Jones finish drooling all over him," Jasmine mumbled.
"I'm sure we'll find out why Dumbledore said that," Hermione said, seemingly refusing to believe that a man that she held in such high esteem as Dumbledore could do anything bad without a good reason.
"We'll have to listen at the next meeting," Ron said. "I wonder what Mum'll say to Sirius when he comes out of the living room."
"Most probably offer him a cup of tea," Fred grinned.
Jasmine's phone began to ring again, and she sat up, suddenly remembering that she had arranged to meet Jack in five minutes.
"Shit!" she said, glancing at her watch. "Hello? Yeah, I'm coming. Five minutes. Yeah. Bye."
"Hot date?" Fred asked.
"Sort of," Jasmine said dryly, getting up from the bed. "I'll see you later."
She ran down the stairs from the attic and into her room, pulling off her jeans and scrambling around, searching for a skirt. She unbuttoned several more buttons on her shirt, ran her fingers through her hair and drew some eyeliner haphazardly around her eyes. Cursing, she shoved her phone in her pocket and checked her appearance in the mirror. Her shirt wasn't tight enough, but it would have to do; she didn't have time to find anything else. She sprinted down the stairs and came to a halt at the bottom.
Sirius had just closed the front door; obviously he had said goodbye to Hestia a minute ago. He started when he saw her, eyeing her outfit disapprovingly.
"Where are you going?" he asked sternly.
"Out," she said shortly. He did not move from in front of the door.
"Have you asked Mrs Weasley?" he asked. Jasmine rolled her eyes.
"What do you think?" she said. "Now move, please."
"Who are you meeting?" he asked. Jasmine put her hand on her hip.
"Well, to quote you earlier, 'it's none of your business'," she said coldly.
"I'm sorry, Jasmine, but you're not going out," he said firmly, folding his arms.
Jasmine eyed him contemptuously.
"Screw you," she said.
Before he could do anything, she had pushed past him and yanked the door open.
"Come back!" he shouted angrily as she flounced down the front path. Ignoring him, she disappeared into the night, her heels clicking rhythmically as she walked.
Well, there you go. Sorry it's a bit short, but please review and let me know what you think and whether I should carry on or not. Thanks :)