Chapter 4

Jane Potter spent the next year still at Beauxbatons, never thinking of Hogwarts until she returned home that summer—choosing for once to stay at school for Christmas Holiday. James wasn't too happy with this, since Albus Dumbledore and Alaster Moody were coming for Christmas Dinner as they had been doing every third year since the Dora and Charlus were married. Jane easily was allowed attendance to Hogwarts with Sirius at his family's homes all summer. Her hair had grown out some, but not much with the layers Jane had added, but it still brushed her shoulders. She looked like someone off of a Muggle television show, the one where they fight crime for some a Charlie figure.

Once they boarded the train, Jane clung to RJ's hand. She wasn't too sure of herself with this many strangers. James and Sirius found a compartment that a group of first years had been using, but once the two of them showed up they suddenly decided to sit with someone else and ran out. Jane opened a compartment door hesitantly to find a boy and girl playing a Muggle card game. The girl, a red head whose hair was brighter than Jane thought natural hair could be, turned and smiled at them.

"Hey Remus!" She beamed her bright green eyes even brighter. The boy, who looked like he could be even paler than Sirius Black, mumbled a hello before he turned his head to almost hide—it looked like—behind his slick hair.

"Hey, Lily. Severus. Can Jane and I sit in here with you? Everywhere else seems full up." Remus explained. Jane looked from RJ to the red head. So she was Lily Evans. She didn't seem any different than any of the other kids they'd past on their way in.

"Sure. It's nice to meet you Jane, I'm Lily Evans. This is Severus Snape." Lily smiled, setting her book to the side.

"Hi. Jane Potter. I'm um…a transfer. From Beauxbatons. It's a long story." Jane smiled, waving weakly. She sat in the seat across from Lily and Severus, hugging RJ's arm tightly.

"Potter?" Severus lowered his eyes.

"James' sister. They're--" RJ started to explain before the compartment door flung open and Sirius and James popped in, dung bombs in hand.

"Hey, Janey!" James called, raising his dung bomb.

"Pretty birdie!" Sirius winked, his arm poised.

"And Snivy!" They smiled wickedly. "Here!" They shouted, flinging the dung bombs at Severus before running back out. Their laughs echoed down the corridors behind them.

Lily glared, reaching for her wand. Jane was faster. She waved her wand easily and opened the door, tossing the dung bombs out. Severus and Lily stared at her, jumping slightly as the door shut.

"Nice, Janey." RJ praised her as she put her wand back inside her vest.

"Thanks RJ." She smiled, cuddling closer to him.

"How?" Severus asked, his hand falling from his nose.

"A simple levitation spell can take care of a lot of things." Jane laughed nervously. "So, James does that a lot?"

Severus nodded, turning his attention out the car window. Lily put her arm around his shoulders, giving him a side hug. She turned to Jane,

"James Potter and Sirius Black are foul loathsome gits. They're no better than Muggle bullies, but of course no one would say that of them because they play quidditch." She rolled her eyes, obviously not impressed by the sport. "Severus has never done a thing to them and yet they live for every chance to--"

"You don't like quidditch?" Jane asked shocked.

"That's what you got from that?" Lily snapped. The two shared a moment of staring before Lily sighed, "I don't hate quidditch I just…don't see the allure. Severus is a half-blood and I'm a Muggle-born, we didn't grow up around quidditch. I didn't really grow up a big fan of many sports, actually."

Jane smiled, "Don't worry. I'll keep him in line."

"For all of our sakes, I hope so." Severus grumbled.

The rest of the train ride to Hogwarts was very uneventful. Jane and RJ rode up to the castle with Lily and a fellow Gryffindor of her and RJ, Frank Longbottom. He was fairly quiet, but they never seemed to forget he was there—which was good because when asked he always had something to say. Severus was going to ride up with them, but two girls Jane recognized briefly, from the rare times her mother's family spent time at Potter manor, as Narcissa and Belatrix Black grabbed his arms and pulled him with them to their own carriage.

Jane took a deep breath as she started up the steps that led inside the large castle. She reached the top, stopping short at the site of her brother's godfather.

"Albus?" Jane smiled, "Sorry, Headmaster." Their mother had already warned them not to be informal with him while there were other students around, but Albus just laughed.

"Old habits die hard I'm afraid, Janey." He smiled, holding his arms open to her. Jane beamed and for the first time since she'd left the platform she let go of RJ's hand, and ran to her family's oldest friend. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his nearly white grey hair. He laughed again as his hands wrapped around her, squeezing her in the way only someone you've known since birth could. His eyes twinkled down at her as they broke apart. "Come with me?"

"I have to go to the feast and get sorted, don't I?" Jane looked from RJ and the crowd that was pushing their way around him and back to Albus.

"That's what we're going to do first. You've transferred here, Janey, I'm afraid everyone already knows you no matter what house you get placed in. Now, come along." He took her hand and led her inside. Jane glanced back at RJ, waving goodbye.

They reached his office shortly, after a few short cuts behind paintings and gargoyles. Jane made a point to remember this; she had a feeling she would be asked to come see Albus regularly.

"Peppermint Pixies." Albus spoke to open the passage. "Come on Janey, no dawdling." They moved inside and to his office, hearing Fawkes' squawking before seeing him.

"Fawkes!" Jane cheered, rushing to the, now, young phoenix. "I haven't seen you since the Christmas we gave you to Albus." She smiled, scratching his soft feathered head.

"Jane?" Albus spoke now, more serious than before. Jane turned to see the old hat her parents had always told her and James about in his hand. She patted Fawkes's head and sat down, closing her eyes and waiting for the moment she felt the hat touch her head. She had barely felt it touch her hair when it began speaking to her, causing Albus to drop the hat onto her head fully.

"A complex mind." The hat started, "hmm…a tough decision. The brains are there, that is for sure. Far more than any other Ravenclaw. Loyal as a dog, a true Hufflepuff. Ambitious and stubborn to finish what she starts. Slytherin's would love you. Oh, but so brave. And you do tend to jump and then look, don't you? Very Gryffindor. Where to place you? Where to place you? Hmmm…" The hat thought hard and long.

"My --" Jane began to think before the hat cut her off.

"Family! The most important thing to you!" He said before crying out for Albus "GRYFINDOR!"

Albus clapped, "Brilliant." He smiled, taking the hat off and handing it over to McGonagall who was waiting at the door patiently. The two shared a smiled before Albus stepped aside for McGonagall to get a better look at Jane.

"Jane Potter. Welcome to Gryffindor, we're proud to have you here with us." She said in what Jane assumed was her politely nice voice.

"Thanks." Jane laughed.

"Well come along, the other students are waiting for us to start up." Albus ushered the two women out, shutting the door behind him on Fawkes' squawking.

Jane followed Albus to the Great Hall, beaming when she saw the empty seat next to RJ. She left Albus' side, bolting for her best mate.

"RJ!" She cried running to him. He looked, smiling and laughing unlike anything of his housemates had ever seen him do. She hugged him tightly, her arm still around him as she sat down.

"Hey Janey." James smiled, holding out his hand. Jane smiled, and slapped it with her free hand.

"Welcome Pretty Bird." Sirius smiled, turning away from the Hufflepuff he was flirting with. He leaned his elbows on the table, resting his head on his hands. "You've grown up nicely, you know that? I like the hair by the way, it looks nice on you. Could do with having it a bit longer, but it's a good start." He said flashing her one of his typically knee melting smiles.

"It's a good thing I don't cut it for you then, now isn't it?" Jane snapped as a blond girl who looked like she was in need of new school robes as her current ones clung to her. Jane guessed that most of the girl's clothes did that, on purpose.

"Hey, pookie." She smiled, wrapping her arms around Sirius' neck, kissing his cheek. She left one around his shoulder as she waved her hand for the boy next to Sirius to scoot over. Jane guessed that he must be Peter; by the way he seemed so eager to accommodate them. The girl sat next to Sirius, her hand resting under the table. Jane rolled her eyes at them. "Oh! You must be the new girl! I'm Cynthia Belington. It looks like you've already met my pookie-bear." Cynthia smiled, cuddling up to Sirius who wrapped an arm around her, but seemed focused on his conversation with James. Cynthia cleared her throat unattractively, getting Sirius' attention. She flipped her hair over her shoulder, it reached around the middle of her back. "Kiss pookie." She ordered, giving him an obvious pout. Sirius smiled and obeyed, kissing her. And kissing her. And kissing her.

"Ok, I think we get it eels." Jane mumbled as she turned to RJ. RJ smiled at her nickname for them. "So, what class did you add this year RJ?"

"Arithmacy. Lily and I are gonna be study partners." He smiled.

"Well Sirius and I are taking Divinations. I mean hello, a class were you get to drink tea? How am I supposed to pass that up?" James laughed, slapping Sirius' head. "Eels! Cool it, the firsties are coming in."

Jane swore she saw Sirius blush as he and Cynthia broke apart and they, like the rest of the room, turned to pay attention to the new students that were filing in. Cynthia ran her hand in Sirius' hair; apparently she wasn't one for meeting new people. Jane smiled as she saw the same nervous looks on a number of the first year's faces that she'd felt herself on the train—and up until the moment she'd hugged Albus.