Hey! Happy Friday! I'm updating early since I have a party to get to tonight! =D

Chapter 10

No one had gotten sick by the time they had all gone up to bed. So, Jasmine assumed that they literally had a harmless welcome back prank every year, and that was it. She had then been herded to Gryffindor Tower where Alice and her friend Marlene McKinnon helped her up the stairs to their dorm room. There were around thirteen fifth Gryffindor girls, fourteen counting Jasmine, or at least that's what Alice had told her as they climbed the stairs. She'd be staying with her, Marlene and Lily. They were the only dorm room with any space.

"Sorry for Lily's absence, she had to get the first years settled into their dorms and then she needed to talk to McGonagall about her duties as prefect this term. She's going to have so much extra work doing the job of two prefects. Merlin knows Remus isn't going to do his job with James and Sirius bossing him around," Marlene muttered as she pushed open the door to their room.

Jasmine noticed that there were name plates on the doors with the first name and then last initial of each person living in the dorms. The names were embroidered differently, each held a style that seemed specific to the person. Jasmine's was full of winter branches twining through each letter, pantomiming Death's embrace. Alice's was loopy with leaves sprouting up at every corner. Marlene's had balloon letters, a broom and a quaffle surrounding it. Lily's was covered in flowers and vines. The I in her name was even dotted with a daisy. It was something that she hadn't seen in the future and she wondered why it had been taken away.

"Oh, do you like the charm work? Lily thought it up. She figured it would help everyone know where we're all living."

And that's why it disappeared. Either it was taken down by McGonagall, who couldn't bear to see Lily's handiwork around the castle after her untimely death or her mother's magic died with her.

"It's lovely. I haven't seen anything quite like it."

"You wouldn't have. She created it with her…friend…Snape. They two of them are always trying to make new things. Though, Snape's spells tend to be…darker in tone," Alice replied carefully, not wanting to slander Severus in a place where Lily could potentially overhear her.

Jasmine wanted to bash her head into a wall. She had forgotten about Severus. She understood his motives in the future, after about five different lifetimes, but she still couldn't stand dealing with his snarky arse. She hoped he wasn't quite as bad as a teen, but she highly doubted it.

She'd bet her father's journals that she was going to have double potions with Slytherins as her first class in the morning. It was tradition after all, one that had been established long before her time at Hogwarts. She had asked Charlie and Bill about it, as well as Sirius and Remus. Even McGonagall said that when she had attended Hogwarts her first class as a Gryffindor almost every year was double potions with Slytherin.

Jasmine sighed. It would be her luck to need to deal with Snape first thing in the morning.

"Is there something wrong with this Snape," Jasmine inquired as she moved towards her bed at the far corner of the room. She could already list what was wrong with Snape, but she wanted to hear what other people had to say about him.

Ro had already made herself comfortable by sleeping on Jasmine's pillow, traitor. She was never going to get all that cat hair out of that now. Ro was truly an evil mastermind.

Alice and Marlene shared a look while they considered their thoughts on Snape. Marlene spoke first.

"Severus Snape is a troubled Slytherin. He cares about Lily, but that's because their childhood friends. He hates muggleborns and half-bloods and talks about them like their rubbish. All of them except Lily. I think she hopes that she can change him, but I think he's going to hurt her in the long run. I'd watch myself around him, if I were you," she warned, flopping down unto her bed, face first.

Jasmine always found it ironic that a lot of half-bloods hated other half-bloods. It never made much sense to her.

Alice let out a strained sigh. "Marlene, I think that we should let Jasmine decide what to do with Snape when she meets him for the first time. I find him to be a very private person and he trusts Lily. From what she's told me, he has had a hard life."

Jasmine had a feeling that both of them were right to an extent. Severus was more than likely a budding dark wizard, who had powerful friends that wanted to follow a powerful dark lord. Severus Snape didn't have any money or prestige to resist his friends demands in Slytherin. He more than likely owed them something for even talking to him. His mother had ruined the Prince name by marrying a muggle after all.

She'd deal with him when the time came. Jasmine was going to really need to prepare for Lily's entrance. The young witch was more than likely going to give her an earful for something or another. Jasmine hadn't treated her that kindly on the train and the Marauders weren't here to protect her from Lily's wrath.

Though, Jasmine doubted that Lily had anything on Mrs. Weasley's rage.

By the time Jasmine had changed into her sleepwear Lily slowly made her way into the room. She didn't even notice Jasmine at first as she made a beeline for her own bed between Alice and Marlene.

Though when she finally noticed the extra bed her gaze turned towards her newest roommate. Her emerald eyes could cut diamonds with the glare she was sending Jasmine's way. "What is she doing here?"

Marlene let out a sigh, "she's living here, Lily. We went through this with you earlier. We are the only dorm room in the tower with extra space right now."

"Whatever," Lily muttered mutinously.

"How were the first years?" Alice asked, breaking the ice somewhat as she plopped down on Lily's side of the bed. The red head groaned.

"They're so needy. They all wanted me to help them unpack or I had to give some of them hugs when they told me that they missed home. Then I needed to go and talk to McGonagall, who told me that I'm to show Jasmine around tomorrow. Apparently, we have the same class schedule."

Marlene whistled. "Damn, Jasmine, you must be really smart to get into the same classes as Lily!"

Jasmine felt a bit of heat creeping into her cheeks. "I suppose. This is my first time attending a school, so maybe it was all a fluke up until this point," she admitted with a wave of her hand.

Alice rolled her eyes as she flopped on the bed. "If you tested into or did any work for these classes and were admitted, then you more than qualify for them. Why are all my friends so infuriately intelligent!" She grumbled, raising her hands above her head in exasperation.

Marlene let out a small breathy laugh, not the kind of laugh that Jasmine pictured coming out of her, she thought that Marlene would have a snorting kind of laugh, not the silent kind she had just done.

"I'm a smart friend? Alice, you give yourself too little credit! You're really good in Herbology and Defense! You're going to be an Auror one day! You and Frank are going to be the cutest couple on the force!" Marlene exclaimed, giving a little hop in the air in her excitement, her already high-pitched voice going a smidge higher.

"You want to be an Auror with your boyfriend?" Jasmine asked, eyebrow raised as Alice rolled around on her bed, burying her face in her sheets.

"Marlene! Frank and I aren't even dating yet! You're going to make Jasmine think I'm obsessed with the Longbottom Heir!"

Jasmine felt a grin making its way onto her face. "Ah, you're interested in that Frank. I've heard horror stories about his mother. You must really like a challenge," she replied, and Alice's face turned a bright red.

"Who wouldn't approve of Alice?" Lily snapped, her fists clenched as she glared accusatorily at Jasmine.

Marlene let out a long sigh. "Lily, Augusta Longbottom is very particular on who her son is allowed to date. She has to personally approve of them. There's a reason that Frank hasn't asked Alice out to Hogsmeade yet. The poor boy wants to, but he can't. Pureblood politics can be tricky, and love isn't always the reason for marriages," she explained with a weary shrug.

Marlene had probably had similar talks with her parents. She was a half-blood, but she came from a long line of purebloods prior to that. Her father no doubt had expectations of who she was going to marry.

"You should go after Frank first. Ignore the bloody rules and ask Frank to Hogsmeade," Lily told her best friend, green eyes shining. Alice let out a groan from under the pillow she had covered her face with.

A small chime came from a clock on the wall, signaling that it was elven in the evening. All four girls stare at the clock in morbid fascination for a moment before Lily cursed and ran over to her trunk and rifled through it for some sleepwear. Jasmine noticed that the other two followed suit. She let out a long breath and wished that she could stay up a bit longer, but then flicked her wand out and summoned her clothing from her trunk, not bothering with looking through it on her own. She had charmed that trunk to have almost too many compartments and didn't have enough time to attempt to find where she had put her clothes.

Morning came too quickly for Jasmine's liking. Ro woke her up by kneading her little paws in her cheek near her very sensitive rune mark. She none too gently pulled her cat from her face and got out of bed. She looked at the time and realized that breakfast had already started. Jasmine turned towards her roommates' beds and noticed that they were all empty. There was a well placed silencing charm around her bed so that should wouldn't have heard them get up.

Well, it seemed that none of them had attempted to wake her up or even wait to see if she knew where the Great Hall was. Jasmine supposed that this was their way of hazing the new girl. Too bad, jokes on them, she'd be able to find her away around Hogwarts without a problem. "Thanks, Ro," Jasmine told her cat, giving her one last pet before she dressed herself and made her way to the Great Hall.

She pretended to get lost once or twice. Breakfast would continue for at least another thirty minutes. If she wasted any more time she'd miss her morning meal, and no one wanted to deal with Jasmine when she was hungry.

So, she pushed on forwards and into the hall. Jasmine didn't even spare Lily and her friends a glance. She noticed Alice blushing out of the corner of her eyes when Jasmine made no move to acknowledge them. If they were going to be petty bints, she would just ignore them. She could sense Lily pointedly not looking anywhere near Jasmine, Marlene putting her head in her hands. It seemed some of them regretted their actions.

Who knew that Lily Evans could be so bloody petty. She hadn't even really done anything. Jasmine just told her that she wasn't comfortable sharing her past with her. It reminded Jasmine a bit of Hermione. Her bushy-haired friend from another lifetime hadn't become her friend easily. They had fought like cats and dogs for nearly a month before Hermione had nearly been killed by a Mountain Troll. Then again, Lily actually had friends, unlike Hermione. Jasmine was also the new girl that people were curious about, but found frightening, and to a degree someone oddly attractive. She just hoped that Lily came around a bit faster than Hermione.

She moved her way around the tables and found the Marauders hastily stuffing a piece of parchment into Remus' defense textbook. They had been looking at the map, then? Were they making sure that she made it to breakfast on time? She hoped so, and it brought a small smile onto her previously frowning face. "And what are you lot up to?" Jasmine asked, sitting down and grabbing a muffin and a bit of oatmeal and berries.

"Nothing really," James said, stuffing a bit of honey covered toast into his mouth.

Ugh.

"Why didn't you come down with Evans?" Sirius questioned as he pulled out Jasmine's timetable and waved it in front of her.

"She said that you didn't want to eat, but Prongs was skeptical," Peter quipped up from the left of Remus. Jasmine had almost missed him.

She grabbed the time table.

"They put a silencing charm on my bed and left before I woke up. It seems that I might not be welcome in their little group," she replied, as she read over her timetable.

Double potions with Slytherin right after breakfast.

She knew that this would happen.

"Would you lot mind showing me to my classes today?" She inquired, waiting for their reactions.

Remus plucked her schedule out of her hand and read it over once. His eyebrow rising as he took in her course load. She was no slacker and she'd prove that to everyone. "You have a lot of the same classes I do. I can take you to them today. No need to get lost," he told her handing the piece of paper back.

"Thank you."

Remus sent her a small smile in return before he turned back to his breakfast. Sirius was making kissing faces behind his back and she stuck her tongue out at him. The dog Animagus gave her the finger. "Is that anyway to treat a lady, Padfoot?" James asked, motioning to his friend's gesture.

"Mr. Black! What do you think you're doing?" McGonagall shouts and Sirius dashed out of the Great Hall, the transfiguration professor hot on his heels.

Was this normal? None of the other Marauders even flinched.

"Does that happen often?"

James snorted. "More so than you'd expect."

She rolled her eyes at the images that flood her mind. Sirius got up into a lot of trouble, he'd told her so in the future, but she hadn't really believed him. Now though…The Marauders were true troublemakers, driving the professors mad and causing chaos. It brought a fond smile to her scarred face. It was bittersweet that she had the soul of someone who was the child of Lily and James, but had the body of someone who barely had ties to James.

It wasn't long before the remaining Marauders made their way to potions. They were basically acting as bodyguards, surrounding her on all sides so no one would bump into her and push her. It was kind, but completely unnecessary. Jasmine was more than capable of taking care of herself, despite how delicate she looked. Only one Slytherin tried to get in between her and the Marauders and she recognized him. It was Theodore Nott senior. Her Theo had looked remarkably like his father, they had the same aristocratic features, high cheekbones, the same dark brown hair that always had a slight wave to it, and the same thin mouth. The major difference was their eyes, Theo's had always been a warm earthy brown, his father's eyes were a stone-cold grey.

Theodore Nott Senior was a cold bastard that beat his son and killed his wife, the same man that would one day end up in Azkaban for killing, hunting, and torturing muggles, muggleborns, half-bloods and magical creatures. Was there any way to save a man that could wander down that path? Theo had mentioned that his mother said that her husband hadn't always been awful, he'd been caring until Voldemort had gotten a hold of him.

Jasmine had a theory that the dark mark drove his followers to insanity if they weren't skilled enough in Occlumency. Only Severus had really kept his sanity in the end and he was a bastard on his best days. Maybe the mark might have amplified that?

She shook her head and ignored it, turning to look at Theodore Nott Senior before James hexed him. "Can I help you?" She asked, her tone causal, yet guarded.

The Slytherin took in her face, noticing the scars and her odd eyes before replying. "Just seeing the monster they let into the castle. I was expecting someone more imposing when I heard that a Lord slayer was going to attend Hogwarts," he replied giving her another up and down, now taking in the littering of scars up and down on her arms. It was rather easy to tell that they were from hexes, curses and all matter of dark magic. His eyes narrow on the mark next to her sightless eye and his gives her a nod of approval before walking away towards the potions classroom.

She had passed his inspection, she supposed.

"What was that about?" James questions, glaring at the retreating back of the Slytherin fifth year.

"Politics, James, politics," she answered with shrug. She had passed some kind of test. She was probably a popular topic in the Slytherin common room last night. Quite a lot of their families owed her family ancient favors. They'd all be watching her to see if she was an heir that they could push around or if she was someone they could ally with.

James gave her an incredulous look before motioning into the potions classroom dramatically. Sirius was already sitting in the room near the back, a shit eating grin gracing his features. The other three Marauders took their seats and Jasmine made her way towards the front of the room, passing Lily, Alice, Marlene and another girl that she didn't know. She noticed that Severus was sitting away from Lily and his own table by himself.

Had they already started fighting? Were blood loyalties really that important at fifteen? Or was it something else?

Either way, when Slughorn noticed her he clapped his hands and beckoned her over. "Ah, you must be Jasmine Peverell! It's lovely to meet you! I read some of your work this summer and it was top notch. Now, Albus told me about your eyes, so why don't you sit in the front next to Severus, so you don't have to strain your good one," he said and motioned for her to take a seat next to a brooding Severus Snape. "Don't worry, he's one of my best students! I have a feeling you'll work well together!"

He clapped his hands again and nudged her towards the dour teen. Oh, this would be an interesting lesson.

Severus has officially been introduced into the story now! I hoped that you guys liked it! You're all slowly getting to see the larger cast that is going to be staring in this story! The big question is how are Lily and Jasmine going settle their differences? Also, I'm glad that a lot of readers are excited about the dueling club! It's going to be a few chapters before you see it, but I have a lot planned for it.

I really appreciated the reviews, follows and favorites this week! I've been really busy with work, so it was nice to read them after a long shift. I love reading your ideas for the future romances in this story! They're really creative! =D

Have a great week,

Animerocker