Welcome ladies and gents!
Le gasp! Another fast update… what is this world coming to?
Anyways, my thanks to AthenaB and HenriaSownbinder your reviews made me update so fast xD
Enjoy!
Billy Idol – Dancing with myself (1980) or The Weird Sisters – Do the Hippogriff
During the next week you could practically feel the tension in the air. With the Quidditch season starting you slowly had to let go of the friends that you had in other houses in favor of cheering for your own. Luckily, Jack wasn't having this dilemma. As the first match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, rolled around, she noticed Dmitry becoming even less talkative in Potions (if that was even possible). He hadn't even warned her not to put three drops of Lethe river water in when she had. This had caused their potion to turn a very violent red and explode. Snape had been absolutely delighted to give them a zero. For some reason, despite the fact that Dmitry was a Slytherin, the Potions Master didn't like him.
For Jack, days weren't that lonely. Somehow, the twins kept spending more and more time with her during her dispute with Angelina. It seemed like they always had one more ingredient to give her or another question to ask her. Fred had even accepted her plea and checked her Transfiguration homework for her. It was hilarious, the twin had actually sat down, reading it and marking different places (his handwriting was absolutely horrendous and barely readable), while George had chatted with Jack about the Softening Charm that they were going to learn after the small break. Obviously, the twins were looking forward to pranking Filch with it.
She would catch Alicia's eyes in the corridors, but the witch never left Angelina's side to talk to Jack. She would smile at the smaller witch, who would give her own smile back. Jack really tried to understand. Her father had always told her 'hatred is born from misunderstanding'. And Jack knew that her Pa was a wise and successful man, no matter how silly he acted sometimes (most of the time, really). She had tried to understand Angelina's side of the argument. She had thought about it a lot.
In fact, she had even talked to Aras about it. The bird hadn't been too happy about that, but it had hooted here and there in response. Now, Jack didn't know what to do. Fred and George were staying away from that subject like it was a raging Horntail. Alicia had obviously chosen a side and was sticking with it. Jack didn't really want to bother Lawrence with her problems, as the sweet Hufflepuff had already been a lifesaver, sitting with her almost all the time (despite Diggory's clear dislike for her). And Dmitry was out of question, as usual. Maybe a month and a half back, he would've been her first choice for this kind of a conversation, but now, well, not really. So, this led to Jack keeping it all inside.
After their Flying lesson, Madam Hooch called out for Jack to stay behind. By the smug looks that Renshaw and Nettlebed gave her (though, the latter's looked more like a stupid attempt to swallow her with his eyes), they all thought that she had detention with their flying instructor. Jack smiled happily at them, despite her low mood. She even gathered the guts to give Angelina a wave as the girl passed. This caused the other girl to give her a death glare and speed up.
"What the heck is wrong with you?!" Alicia whisper-yelled, catching Jack's elbow. The small witch shrugged.
"I'm not doing anything wrong." She replied a bit too coldly. Jack saw the way her friend's eyes softened.
"I'd just gotten her to admit that you might have your reasons for being silly! Don't provoke her!" Jack stared in disbelief. Being silly? Friendship was silly? A promise to a friend was silly? Who in the world had she provoked?
Icefire-like rage rose inside of her at the other girl's words. Was this how friendship was? Full of lies and betrayal and silly drama? Did people really not value their promises? Was it only like that in the movies? Or maybe her father was foolish? No, her father couldn't be foolish. His friends were true. Maybe it was Jack? Yes, it had to be her.
She wrenched her elbow out of Alicia's grip, the cold anger that she hadn't had in a while consuming her. "There's only one person being silly here, Alicia, and it isn't me." Her anger faltered a bit once she saw the sad and hurt look in her friend's eyes, but that was quickly consumed by rage, too. "I will never, ever, break my promises. Even if I have to die for it."
Alicia stared in disbelief. Jack pushed her away then and headed towards Madam Hooch, who was gathering brooms. The dark haired witch walked towards the common room. She couldn't believe it. She had known that Jack was a strong person. After all, all those cruel rumors about her father or her never seemed to bother her. The small witch would always laugh them off or pretend that she didn't hear them. Alicia had thought that to merely be because of her ignorance. But, she had been wrong.
Even after leaving Jack to fend for herself and picking to stay with Angelina (she thought that she could calm their friend and get her to see reason), she had expected the small witch to come running to her sooner or later. That hadn't happened. In fact, the more Jack was left to her own devices the stronger she seemed to become. True, Alicia had noticed her friend's red eyes the first couple of days. She had heard her cry in her sleep and felt increasingly guiltier with each day.
But, today Jack had overcome all of Alicia's expectations. The girl had spoken about death, something that neither first year could actually fathom, with such conviction, such passion that it had scared Alicia. She had never known someone who felt so strongly about something that most people took for granted. Then, she remembered. Jack had grown up on her own, without friends. She had grown up idealizing the mere subject of friendship and promises. It was no wonder that she felt strongly about it. Alicia had been expecting strong, but not this strong. She hadn't been expecting the storm in Jack's eyes.
X
"Yes, just test them." Madam Hooch told her. "We had a case a couple of years ago when someone enchanted a Bludger to chase only the opposite team." Jack nodded, carrying the box with Quidditch balls over to the center of the, now freshly mowed and readied, pitch. "Here you go." The woman handed her a Beater's bat and took one for herself. Jack opened the box and the Bludgers immediately began struggling to get out. Jack couldn't help it, despite her bad mood and not too Quidditch obsessed nature, she got excited.
In one smooth motion, she undid the straps and released the two violent balls. They shot into the air, one heading towards Hooch and the other towards Jack. The small witch caught her attacker with her bat, sending it away from herself. Then, she ran to her broom and jumped on it, taking to the skies.
The air greeted her. Yes, she had always liked this feeling. The November wind was cold, biting her face as she climbed up on the old Cleansweep. The ride wasn't perfect, that was for sure, but it was exhilarating. She felt the excitement bubble in her stomach and allowed the general happiness of flying spread through her tired body. This was what a dragon felt like. Right now, she was a dragon. Right now, she was unbeatable. Jack whipped out the Beater's bat and slammed the Bludger away from her with impressive force for her frame. The ball headed for the hoops and made a circle around the pitch before heading towards Madam Hooch.
The woman (who had definitely played Quidditch professionally before) slammed it towards the student once more. Jack was ready. She received it and sent it upwards, straight into the skies.
X
The Bludger seemed to come from nowhere, hurling itself towards Charlie. Jack jumped up onto feet once more. She climbed onto her seat in the stands, waving her scarlet flag around as the Gryffindor Chaser sped right in front of her, holding the Quaffle. Lawrence tried to steady the jumping girl, but if didn't work. She was a bit too excited.
"Go Charlie!" Jack cheered. Gryffindor was leading with forty points ahead of the Slytherin team. Jack felt excitement bubble inside and began jumping on her bench once more. Then, there was a flash of something gold in her field of vision.
Everyone was yelling, and so was she. The noise of the match was deafening. Briefly, she could hear the dull voice of the seventh year that was relaying the match. The girl seriously needed to cheer up. She sounded like a half-revived zombie.
"Snitch! It's the Snitch!" Yelled Jack, grabbing Lawrence and shaking him. He laughed along, not really knowing what to do with the overly excited girl.
"I can see that!" He yelled over the roar of the crowd. Jack whooped again as Charlie and the Slytherin Seeker, who she didn't know, headed towards the golden ball. The small witch jumped again, slipping on the bench slightly. Thankfully, Lawrence steadied her. "Be careful!" He yelled again, but it fell on deaf ears.
When he looked to the short haired girl he saw her eyes become wide, her mouth open in anticipation and then she yelled out, even before the crowd and the commentator. Her delighted, red from cold, face then turned to him and she yelled.
"We won!" The small girl hugged him as the crowd cheered left and right. Obviously, she had gotten into the game a bit too much. Lawrence laughed, accepting her hug. Jack jumped down from her seat and then hugged him once more, hopping up and down. "We won!" The roar of the crowd was deafening.
"You did!" Confirmed Lawrence as Jack reached up and kissed his cheek in excitement.
"We won!" She repeated for the thousandth time to the, now dumbfounded, boy. "I need to find Fred and George!" She yelled out and left him there in the stands to hold his cheek, face going a tomato red.
X
That evening the Gryffindor Common room went insane. There was music and dancing. Someone brought snacks from the kitchens (and Jack had a very good suspicion of who it was). The witch ended up squished in between Mary, the shy Gryffindor girl, and a fourth year boy that she didn't know. However, as the party took off, Fred and George decided that it was their duty to make her legs fall off.
They forced her to get up and to dance to every single wizarding hit (especially during the 'Do the Hippogriff' by the Weird Sisters). Occasionally, they would take a drink break and then keep jumping around. The twins had absolutely 'exceptional' dancing skills which involved shoving and pushing everyone around them with their flailing arms. The ruckus continued well into the night but Jack didn't really pay attention to it. She was having a blast.
She had never been on a high like this. The excitement of the match was still rushing through her and Fred and George were simply contagious with their energy. Now, not even the fact that she was fighting with Angelina could get her down.
It the end, someone played Celestina Warbeck (much to the amusement of the students), but no one changed the song. Most people had gone to bed, though, as the next day was a Monday. Jack ended up dancing comically with George, as Fred and Lee created their own duo. Unfortunately, (or fortunately) the party was broken up by McGonagall. Their Head of house stormed in with a stern expression and sent them all to bed, confiscating the music.
"Best. Party. Ever." Giggled Jack as she headed towards her bed with Lee and the twins.
"I'll drink to that!" Confirmed Lee. The twins exchanged glances, doing their eye-talk.
"You are still young." Said one twin, caressing his chin in a 'wise' manner.
"You still haven't seen the wonders of his world." Added the other, waggling his eyebrows at Lee. Jack burst into laughter. Lee shook his head.
"You two are ridiculous!" She told them, heading into the opposite direction, towards her bed. "Night."
"Sleep tight!" Yelled out one twin.
"Don't let the bed moles bite!" Added the other.
"It's bugs, you plank." Murmured Lee.
"Are you sure it's not moles?"
"Weasleys! Jordan! To bed!" Jack stifled her laugher as she shut the door to her dorm.
X
Professor McGonagall went around the Gryffindor table during breakfast that week. She had a list where she noted down everyone who was staying at Hogwarts for the holidays. Jack was a bit surprised to see Lee writing his name down. McGonagall seemed rather relieved when the twins rejected the list.
"Give my regards to your father, Miss Knight." The stern, but not unkind, witch told Jack when the girl also rejected the list.
"Of course, Professor." The small witch promised, a bit surprised. Didn't Professor McGonagall hate her father? Or at least strongly dislike him? Why would she want to send him her regards? Never the less, Jack would tell her Pa. No doubt, he was going to be delighted that 'his Minnie' had remembered him.
"Happy Holidays, Professor." Called out one of the twins, George, Jack suspected. Professor McGonagall gave him nod and continued on her way.
"Mate, why're you staying in the castle?" Asked the other twin. Lee pushed away his homework and closed his ink bottle.
"My parents decided to take a sabbatical. You know, one for themselves." Replied the boy with dreadlocks.
"Yuck." Chorused the twins. Lee nodded along.
"Well, we're going home." Said George.
"I think you made McGonagall's day when you didn't sign the list." Told him Jack. Lee laughed and dug into his already cold breakfast. It was strange how well she was getting along with the trio.
"True." Confirmed Fred with a cocky grin. Obviously, they weren't going to go away quietly.
"Hey, have you seen Towler recently?" Asked Lee. George shook his head.
"No. It's been a while since I've seen him." Replied Fred. "Doesn't he have a cousin in Ravenclaw?" Jack followed their conversation with interest, despite her open book. Wasn't Towler their dormmate?
"You should ask him." Added George. Lee nodded, mouth full of bacon. Fred let go of the parchment that he had been playing with. It started jumping around the table and biting everyone that had their hands in its path. George and Lee laughed.
"What do you need that git for, anyways?" Asked Fred. Lee drank some juice, but Jack answered before he could.
"Not everyone you don't like is a git, Fred." She told him, closing her book. For some reason, not even the mating rituals of the Ridgeback could cheer her up. Fred made a face in her direction.
"I'm George, silly girl." He argued. Jack snorted. She wasn't going to play their game again. "What?" The twin kept up his act. "You think that you can tell us apart?" He dared. He had actually dared her. Jack looked up from her plate, locking eyes with the freckled boy that she was pretty sure was Fred.
"I can't tell you apart." She replied, enjoying his look of triumph. "But, i can make an educated guess." She told him.
"How do you know that I'm not Fred?" Asked the other twin. Jack smiled at him now, staying silent. Lee got up, taking all of his things with him.
"I'll see you later." He waved, receiving nods in return. Jack was still locked in a staring contest with George. The twin was bouncing his leg, waiting. However, the small witch wouldn't give. She was smirking, glad that she had finally gotten under their skin somehow. They were always the ones with the advantage. Now, she finally had the good cards!
A clank was heard and juice spilled all over the table. "Bugger!" Exclaimed the other twin, Fred, in Jack's opinion. The two looked to see him trying to pick up his goblet and stop the juice from spreading.
"You alright, Freddie?" So, she had been right! Jack couldn't stop the small smile of victory that spread on her face. George took out his wand and vanished the liquid. Jack stared at him.
"That's O.W.L. level!" She exclaimed. George gave her a grin. Someone cursed very loudly down the table causing Jack to look. Sure enough, there was the juice, all over some poor Gryffindor fifth year. "You tosser."
"What?" Defended the twin. "He's a fifth year, he can vanish it himself." Jack shook her head, looking back to Fred. He was focused on his goblet, thoughts far away.
"Fred?" The small witch asked, extending her hand to touch his, sticky from juice, one. She squished the feeling of OCD creeping into the back of her skull.
"Mmm?" The twin asked, not looking away from the goblet.
"Are you alright?" Asked Jack gently, as if afraid to scare him. She tossed a questioning look at George who shrugged. She looked back at the boy in front of her.
"I'm fine." He replied finally looking up with a crooked grin. But, it seemed somehow off. He was a bit paler than usual. And, Jack had noticed him dozing off in class, too.
"Are you sleeping alright?" She wouldn't be deterred.
"Blimey, woman!" Fred exclaimed, finally sounding like himself, causing George to grin widely at him. "What are you, my mother?" And then he began packing.
"We're going to be late for class." Said George, also taking his books. Jack raised her eyebrow at them, before remembering that they had Charms, which the twins actually attended on time (unlike most of the other subjects).
X
Jack felt weird about packing her trunk. The dorm was empty, as Alicia and Angelina had cleared out as soon as she had come in, and the other three girls were in the Study Hall. Jack placed all of her books into the trunk, preparing to review over the holidays. Though, something told her that with her Pa present, she was going to be doing everything but that. The small witch also carefully cleared out and made room in her luggage for the potion ingredients. She had bathed the fairywater in the moonlight twice. Soon, everything would be ready for her to begin brewing. She still needed the twins to get her some star grass, which they were boasting that they could. Jack doubted it. She would have to abuse her father's name and order it.
The door opened as the witch was folding her clothes carefully and a girl from her dorm, Mary, entered. Mary was a short girl, a bit taller than Jack, with pale blonde hair that came all the way down her back and chocolate eyes. She was rather shy and quiet and mostly hung out with the other two girls that shared the dorm with them. The Gossiping Duo.
Jack didn't want to open that can of worms. She tried to stay out of their way as much as possible, and in exchange, they sought her out to the best of their abilities. Something about her, which she couldn't identify, made her a nice target for them. She mostly didn't care, because those two could only run their mouths. True, in the beginning their gossiping had made her self-conscious, but now, she was mostly indifferent. Angelina used to get mad and stand up for her. Yes, Angelina. Jack sighed, dropping the blue shirt into her trunk.
"Are you going home for Christmas?" Asked Mary suddenly. Jack looked up to see the girl sitting on her bed, watching the smaller witch pack. Mary didn't talk to her often. She talked to Alicia and Angelina, but not Jack.
"Yes." The witch replied. "Pa said that he would take some time off during the holidays this year." There was silence for a moment as Jack kept packing. Mary simply sat there, watching her. For a brief moment, Jack wondered if the girl was spying on her for the other two or maybe planning a prank. Then, she pushed those thoughts away. Despite her unfortunate choice of company, Mary was a sweet girl. She wouldn't do something like that. And she definitely wasn't Fred nor George, so pranking was out of question. "Are you staying?"
The blonde nodded. "My family is going to France to visit my sister. She got a job in Lyon." Mary explained with a smile. She was really pretty, thought Jack.
"Why aren't you going? Don't you want to see your sister?" Jack asked, dropping her skirt into the trunk and then pausing. Mary looked down at her lap.
"We don't have a lot of money, so we can't afford a big trip. Only my parents are going." She seemed ashamed of her situation. Jack smiled.
"Then you should go next time!" The smaller witch told her. "I've only been to Paris, but France was amazing." Mary nodded, staying silent. There was a moment where no one spoke and Jack simply folded clothes and tossed them into her trunk. "It doesn't really matter how much money your folks have." The witch spoke suddenly. "We have a lot, yet my Pa works all the time. I'd trade that money for more time with him anytime." She smiled sadly at the expensive beige cashmere jumper in her arms.
"Thanks, Knight." Jack barely heard it. She kept folding her clothes, feeling a bit better. Maybe, just maybe, she had made a new friend.
X
Jack walked towards the Hogwarts Express, her eyes wide. She looked back, seeing the Hogwarts castle in the background. She was torn between leaving and staying somehow. Sure, she knew that she was coming back, but she would also miss the giant school. Somehow, over the last couple of months, it had become a second home to her.
"Miss Knight." Jack turned to see Professor Vasilescu. She was dressed in beige robes with silver and white designs all over them. A fur scarf in the same colors was around her neck, along with a cap on her head and a muff on her delicate hands. Her pale hair shimmered in the morning sun. It was cold and she didn't seem one bit bothered by it.
Jack shivered, her breath becoming a white puff in the air as she spoke. "Yes, Professor?" Vasilescu smiled that cryptic smile of hers, eyes full of mirth. She sometimes reminded Jack of Professor Dumbledore.
"You better hurry along. Have a wonderful Christmas." Jack grinned.
"Thanks!" She headed towards the doors of the train. It was no wonder that Vasilescu was among her favorite teachers. She was beautiful, smart and amazing! Jack wanted to be just like Vasilescu when she grew up.
"Knight!" Exclaimed Lawrence, suddenly appearing next to Jack. "Here, let me." The boy helped her push up her trunk and then pull it into the train. Then, they repeated the process with his. He panted and they headed down the train together, looking for a compartment. "Looking forward to the holidays?" Lawrence asked, making small-talk.
"Yes!" Jack replied. Her mood had gone from solemn to giddy in a day. Her talk with Mary had somehow cheered her up. And, the fact that Dragon was simply a ride away now made her excited and a bit worried. What if she had changed a lot? What if he was disappointed about her grades? What if he didn't want to take time off for Christmas?
"Me too." Lawrence kept talking, not noticing that the witch had gone into her personal worry-land. "My folks are having a traditional Christmas this year. They are telling everyone how I'm a wizard and all that." He explained with a small blush.
"They're proud? Wait, is that allowed by the Ministry, though?" Wondered Jack. Lawrence nodded.
"Mum asked if she could tell the rest of our family. She was so giddy about sending a letter by owl! You should've seen her face!" He laughed. Jack smiled along. True. For muggles, wizarding ways were probably just as strange as theirs were to the wizardkind. Lawrence suddenly stopped, making Jack halt, too. "I'm riding with my mates." He told her, pointing to the compartment window. Jack could see Diggory talking to another Hufflepuff that she didn't know. "Want to sit with us?" Lawrence asked, a hopeful look on his face.
"That's alright." Jack told him. "I'll go find Fred and George." She said, waving to him.
"Happy holidays!" Lawrence yelled after her. She turned to give him a bright smile.
"You too!" The small witch didn't see him slap his forehead in annoyance when she left his sight.
"You wanker." He told himself. "'Happy holidays'? Really?" Lawrence shook his head and entered the compartment with a large smile.
That's all folks!
As you can see, I've began using a British curse words and slang dictionary! If I use something incorrectly, please do tell me xD Unfortunately, English isn't my first language, and the time that I spent in an English-speaking country was in USA, CO :D
Also, I noticed that I miscalculated Charlie's year. He's actually a sixth year, while I made him a seventh. I'll go back and correct that during the holidays when I have more time :D
I wrote this chapter real fast xD I don't know why, but after the wonderful reviews, I simply needed to write some more! :D
That's all from me! Leave me your thoughts :D
Onto the reviews!
AthenaB: Thank you! That's such a compliment xD There are simply some stories that you need to keep reading xD I'm humbled that you felt that way about this one :D
I made Jack over the span of a couple of years when I was reading a lot of HP fanfiction, I tried to make her as unique as possible, and I'm very happy that you think that she isn't a mold-fitting OC xD
I was considering starting with Harry's first year, because I had wanted to make Jack younger, but then, I realized that she couldn't properly develop if I did that, so I chose to make her a bit older :) Simply, Dragon's name wouldn't be able to hold a candle to the name of Harry Potter, so she wouldn't get a chance to grow her own backbone, like she gets here. Also, I really wanted to explore my annoying and obnoxious twins headcanon xD
Hope you enjoyed the chapter!
HenriaSownbinder: :D Heheheeeee~ :D :D :D :D :D So happy when I write my point across :D Heheheheheheeeee~ Happy dance moment over here :D Jack is a real softie and she doesn't even get it. She thinks that her biggest weakness is in class when she makes stuff go 'kaboom!' Naive little thing…
Yeah, I figured that Dragon would like to boast about his success :D Also, he was a bit of a mischievous prankster himself, he wants to leave a legacy :) I was grinning as I wrote it :D
The house thing was kind of a touched subject, but I'll get to it in the next chapter probably? No idea…
I'm glad that you were all happy and giddy :D I can't stop smiling when I get a review and do a happy dance as I read each one :D And then I keep re-reading them as I write the new chapter xD
You have kids? Lucky! My aunt just had her little one on the 1st of December and it made me wish I had my own xD There's still time, though :P I can't provide for a kid while I'm a student :'(
Hopefully, this update was fast? :P
