Disclaimer: Not mine, except for those you don't know.

Chapter 11 - Christmas Woes: Jazlyn wasn't invisible anymore. She was the girlfriend of one of the most popular boys in school, and she hung out with him and his friends. It was a change that took getting used to, but she enjoyed it, much to her surprise.

The night before the Christmas break, she was in the common room with the Marauders. She was sitting on a couch with Sirius, James, and Lily. James and Lily's date had gone well, and they were now an item. Remus was sitting in an armchair next to them, and Peter was sitting on the floor. Remus had a copy of the Evening Prophet open on his lap and was frowning at it.

"What's wrong, Remus?" Lily wanted to know.

"It's that Dark wizard, Voldemort. His group's claiming responsibility for another Muggle mass killing." Lily's emerald eyes flashed; she was a Muggle-born, and took such things personally. James put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Jazlyn and Sirius glanced at each other, both thinking that the reactions of their relatives over in Slytherin would be very different.

Trying to change the subject, Sirius said, "So, what are everyone's plans for the break?"

"Well, I'll go home and try not to let Petunia bother me. I think she's bringing her fiance Vernon over, unfortunately." Lily rolled her eyes as she finished her statement. "They're perfect for each other. They hate anything that's outside their definition of normal, and I certainly am that."

"So, the Muggle version of the Blacks?" Sirius wanted to know. Lily nodded. "What kind of a name is Vernon?" he added. Lily didn't answer; she looked like she was fighting back laughter.

"I'm going to deal with another party where all the relatives pinch my cheeks and marvel over how much I've grown," James said gloomily. When Sirius snickered, James added, "Don't you laugh, mate. You're staying with me this year, remember. They'll do the same to you." Sirius cringed.

Peter and Remus were going home as well. Jazlyn scowled when the others looked at her. "I've been ordered to attend the Christmas Eve ball this year. It's our family's turn to host it." The Christmas Eve ball was a yearly event hosted by a different pure-blood family each year. "They usually don't let me come when it's somewhere else, and encourage me to leave as soon as possible when we host it. But my grandmother wants me there the whole time. I wonder if she's losing her mind."

"Ah, she probably wants to show off her most beautiful granddaughter," Sirius said with a grin. Jazlyn laughed. She didn't blush at those comments, though she had when he'd first started to say them. She was used to it now.

The next day, the six teens shared a compartment - though for a while, it was just the five of them. Peter disappeared for about an hour and refused to say where he'd been, though his red cheeks prompted Sirius and James to tease him about being on the lookout for a girl. "So, who's your crush, Petie?" James said with a grin. Lily ordered them to stop when Peter kept getting redder, and they did, though reluctantly. But Lily was scary when angry, and very good with hexes. Jazlyn said nothing, her eyes on Peter. He shifted under that golden gaze. Peter hadn't been out after a girl, but the fact that his friends thought so was good. But from the way Jazlyn was looking at him, he had a feeling she suspected something else.

When they left the train, James kissed Lily before walking over to his parents. Lily headed for the gateway to meet her parents. Remus and Peter waved and left. Sirius and Jazlyn looked at each other. "Take care of yourself, then. Don't let them be too evil." With that, Sirius kissed her and then strode over to the Potters. Jazlyn smiled before Disapparating.

When she got home, there was a note on her bed from her grandmother. She was to come to Katherine's rooms immediately. She didn't like this, not one bit.

She reached her grandmother's door and knocked. "Enter," an imperious voice called. Jazlyn did so. Katherine was in the first room, her sitting room, seated on a Victorian-style chair. As always, she wore black, and her white hair was twisted into a bun at the nape of her neck. Her hazel eyes were hard. She looked exactly like what she was; the matriarch of the Temaida family, who ruled her children and grandchildren with a heavy hand.

"Ah. Jazlyn. I'm glad to see that you can be prompt, at least. You received my letter?"

"Yes, Grandmother."

"Good. So you know that you are attending the Ball this year. Dinner will be hosted in the banquet hall in the east wing, the dancing in the adjoining ballroom and you must present yourself in the east drawing room with the rest of us at seven o'clock. One of the servants will set out appropriate clothes for you." Jazlyn nodded in understanding.

"I also wish to discuss your recent choice of friends. While I could do very little while you were at school, I must now forbid you to see any of them again. Do not shame us further by continuing to associate with such a second-class group. You will not be punished now, but if you continue to spend time with those people, you will be." Only years of hiding her emotions and holding her tongue kept Jazlyn silent and her face expressionless at the way her grandmother described her friends. "I see that you understand. Dismissed." Jazlyn left her grandmother immediately; she did not trust her abilities to stay controlled if she stayed much longer.

Katherine watched her granddaughter go, her mind busy. It's a good thing the chit looks so much like her mother, French whore or not. Selene was beautiful, at least. And Jazlyn... if what young Bella has told me is true, the eldest Black boy has already fallen under the spell of that bronze hair and golden eyes. And Jazlyn seems to reciprocate his feelings. The Black looks are good ones, and shared through the family; it should make my plan all the simpler.

The next day was Christmas Eve. Jazlyn spent a lot of her time in the library, avoiding her father as best she could. He usually came to the large libraryfor a book or two, before returning to his office, where he spent most of his time. Jazlyn knew he wouldn't be at the Ball; he probably didn't even know it was today. Katherine wouldn't press him; she was forceful, but not an idiot, and she knew that it was unlikely her eldest son even heard her periodical lectures on how he ought to remarry for the family's sake.

When she returned to her room at four o'clock, a servant, Mary, was waiting. Mary was a Squib; the Temaidas hired only Squibs or hard-on-their-luck Muggleborns and half-bloods as servants, ever since a house-elf's mistake had killed the Temaida patriarch, sometime in the 1700s.

"Miss Jazlyn, you ought to have been here an hour ago! Oh, well, we'll have to make do." She held up a set of amber-colored silk dress robes. "Mistress Katherine wished you to wear these tonight."

Jazlyn eyed the robes. They looked vaguely familiar, and after she had put them on and seen her own reflection, she realized why; they were her mother's. Where had Katherine gotten them? From what she knew, all of her mother's things had been destroyed, except what she had. Then again, Katherine seemed to want her on display tonight for some reason, and she knew that the robes had suited Selene, and that Jazlyn looked much like her mother. Katherine may have simply ordered new robes of the same style and color.

It seemed to take forever for Mary to do Jazlyn's hair, but that was only because the woman couldn't decide what to do. To Jazlyn's annoyance, the final style was the first one Mary had tried; a simple bun, with wispy curls hanging loose. Jazlyn liked the effect, but knew she could have done it herself and wondered what all the fuss was about. She told Mary that if makeup was necessary, she could do it herself, and that she needed no more assistance. Jazlyn wasn't imperious by nature, but she saw it quite often, and was a good mimic. She did her makeup; simple, a golden eyeshadow to match the dress, a hint of blush, and a hint of lipcolor in a pale gold-bronze color. She wanted to wear the necklace Sirius had given her, but she didn't want to draw attention to it, in fear that it would be taken once her grandmother learned who the giver had been. So she wore a citrine drop on a gold chain, with dangling earrings to match - the jewelry had been left on her dresser, presumably by Mary or another servant.

At seven o'clock, Jazlyn went to the east drawing room. There she and her relatives greeted their guests as they arrived. Her cousins, both the Temaidas as well as Cissy kept shooting surprised glances at her. Bella, however, didn't seem at all surprised to see Jazlyn.

When all the guests had arrived, they all went into the banquet hall. Jazlyn searched for a namecard with her name on it - seats were assigned - and found that her seat was between Bella and Regulus Black. This was unusual; not that she had been placed near Bella, but that she had also been placed near Regulus. He was the heir to the Black family now that Sirius had been disowned; his parents would be looking for a good match for him. He looked a lot like Sirius, with the black hair and similar features. The main difference was that his eyes were ice blue, instead of Sirius' smoky gray. A chill ran down Jazlyn's spine, but she shook it off. The idea that had popped into her head was ridiculous.

Bella, naturally, ignored her cousin the entire time, instead speaking to the person on her other side, Rodolphus Lestrange. It was known around Hogwarts that the two were lovers, and it was likely that they would end up married. Regulus, on the other hand, attempted to start a conversation with Jazlyn, but seemed unsure of what to say. She pitied him, in a way; although he was one of her Slytherin tormentors, he'd always seemed to be part of that group because it was expected of him, rather than out of any true enjoyment for their activities.

"Becoming shy around girls, Black?" Lucius Malfoy said mockingly to Regulus, whom he was seated across from. Regulus glared at Lucius and then turned back to Jazlyn.

"So, Jazlyn, it's your NEWT year, yes? Tell me, are the teachers as forceful about their importance as they were with OWLs?" He actually seemed curious about this, but then, from what she knew, Regulus was an academic.

"Yes, but they've been on about it since sixth year, which I'm sure you know yourself. How are you finding NEWT classes?"

"Difficult, but enjoyable. I enjoy Slughorn's lessons the most, but I always was fond of potions. What is your favorite subject?"

"I would have to say Ancient Runes. It's not a common class, and it's fascinating."

"I didn't take it, I'm afraid. Which do you find harder, Transfiguration or Charms?"

Their conversation stayed in this vein; stiff, polite, and not about anything more than school. Then, after dinner, the group moved into the ballroom. Regulus asked her for the first dance, and also requested the last one. Jazlyn said yes to both requests; Regulus seemed a bit more decent than the other boys there.

She was certainly not too pleased by her second dance partner. Lucius Malfoy didn't even ask; he simply blocked her way off the floor after she danced with Regulus and led her into the next dance. Narcissa kept shooting them furious looks; her crush on Lucius was well-known. But she needn't have worried; Lucius only wanted the chance to torment her.

"You really have no idea why you're here, do you, Temaida?"

"I don't see why you would care, Malfoy," she responded icily. He laughed, a cold laugh that made her nervous.

"They're displaying you as marriage fodder. They're looking to match you with a pureblood boy who will tame your sudden defiance and turn you into a dutiful pureblood wife and mother. It's too bad that I have plans to wed another; I would enjoy... taming you," he told her with a smirk before he let her go and she fled while trying not to look frightened. The idea of being 'tamed' by someone like Malfoy made her sick. She took a goblet of mulled mead from a passing servant, wishing that they served something besides alcohol at these things. She drank it, though, composing herself.

All in all, she was quite relieved when the evening was over. The next morning, there were presents at the foot of her bed from her friends as well as from her cousin Andromeda. Lily had given her a Muggle novel called The Lord of the Rings that appeared to be three novels in one, James gave her a set of Gobstones (probably because he thought she needed to have more fun), Remus gave her a blank journal (a nod to the fact that they'd all seen her writing), a pack of Self-Shuffling Cards from Peter, and a charm bracelet from Sirius. Andromeda had given her a photo album. Jazlyn liked her gifts but quickly put them in her trunk so that no one noticed them. She hoped her friends had gotten their gifts. She'd slipped them into each person's trunk when they weren't looking.

She was reading one of the books from the library when Mary came to her room and told her that her grandmother wished to see her again. She frowned as she went back to see Katherine once more.

Katherine looked up from a letter she was writing as her granddaughter came in. "Jazlyn. I'm sure you noticed your seating arrangement last night? How did you get on with young Regulus?"

That chill came back. Maybe she had been right after all... "He seemed like an alright sort, Grandmother. We honestly weren't very comfortable with one another."

"Really? Well, you'd best learn to be, because you will be formally betrothed to him this summer, once you finish school."

A/N: Oh, I guess this counts as a cliffie? Oh dear, I think I'm in trouble...