About the Story:
This is a work-in-progress. If you've read it a few months ago...you have
not read the story as it is now. I am constantly revising, to make it more
realistic and easier to read. I'm a bit of a perfectionist, and my stories
thus far are riddled with holes, inconsistencies, and plot gaps.
Also, this story is based off of a roleplaying game called Hogwarts: On Crack. That, in and of itself, should tip you off that, as much as I try, this fic is not going to be totally canon. I'm sorry to disappoint you.
Also, this IS the sequel to "For the Love of Potions", so it will not totally make sense unless you read the first. I'd like to make it a standalone fic, but as of now...I can't. So you can either brave the fic without reading its predecessor, or read the first one. I don't care which. Eventually, I am also going to add some history of Jupiter's family.
About the Characters: Most of the characters in this story do not belong to me. The canon HP characters, obviously, belong to JK Rowling, and the original characters are credited at the beginning of each chapter.
Now, I would like to say something about our "heroine", Jupiter. Jupiter is the result of years of character development. I try the best I can not to make her a Mary-Sue, though, obviously, a relationship with the Potions Professor seriously compromises that. As such, I'd been thinking of taking an existing, but little-known Slytherin, and using her. Blaise Zabini, to be precise. I decided against this, as I am currently working on another fic involving Blaise, and would not want them to get confused.
Chaos, also, is very...how do you say? Bad. He has no personality, and he never will. I used to think he was cute. Now I basically hate him. He is currently only in the story as a plot device, though I may replace him with someone later on. I would just like to apologise for him in advance.
So please, bear with me.
About Reviewing: Reviews are very much appreciated, but not compulsory. However, if you are going to review, please tell me what you did or did not like, instead of an "I love this" or "u suxx0rz". Also, corrections as far as typographical, capitalization, punctuational, spelling, grammatical, or American errors (I do try to write like I'm British) are most definitely welcome and encouraged.
Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction. And now, on with the show! ...Er, fic.
-Katu
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It was a a dark morning in August, and Jupiter had just awoken. She'd had the dream again, the nightmare that had haunted her since she was tiny. Only now it had her vision from the Hall of Shadow in it.
A succession of images, Voldemort's red eyes, boring into her own blue ones. A deep, but raspy voice coming from high above her head. Her parents leaving her in the drawing room, alone. The rest of the night spent leaned up against the grate, next to the great, cold fireplace. The ashes that she allowed to sting her eyes, and the desperate, panicked throbbing of her tiny heart, hoping that her Dark Lord would return and say there'd been a mistake.
Then, a rush of red wind, and there, before her, stood Severus. Beaten and broken, his red-rimmed eyes barely focusing on her face, his pale countenance swaying from side to side. The Dark Mark on his arm, burning with a black flame, and then the same red eyes appearing behind him...the same raspy voice, staking claim over him, and then a sudden loss of sight, and the abrupt return to reality-
She sat up in bed, holding her sheets to her heaving chest, and slowly waited for the fear to subside and her heartbeat to slow. It was only a dream, no matter how realistic. Her breathing returned to normal, and she tried to ignore the burning depression that set in, replacing the heart- rending fear. She thought of him again, and how she missed him.
Severus had been gone for two months now, spying again for Dumbledore. Jupiter was naturally concerned about him, and very upset that she didn't get to see him anymore. Occasionally she would see him, walking through the hallways, looking like a man who had hang-glided over hell. She would shout to him, and sometimes he would hear, sometimes he wouldn't. If he did hear, he'd send her a glance over his shoulder. It would be sorrowful and lonely, but it was something. She found herself scanning the hallways for him each and every day, hoping she would see him. She rarely did.
As she got dressed, she switched to more happy thoughts, such as the fact that classes start today, and how she still had filing to do. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand. It dutifully chimed out, "It's 5am, you insomniac. Go back to sleep."
Jupiter laughed half-heartedly. "I would, but I don't want to return to my dream. And besides, I have a lot of work to do."
"Suit yourself. But bags under the eyes are very unattractive, you know!"
Jupiter swung her legs out of bed, and put her feet on the floor. She stood up and looked down at her night-dressed form. She wished, vaguely, that she was thinner, but shrugged off the thought, and reached for her paperwork. She piled it up on her bed, and began filing.
A sudden crack of lightning and roll of thunder shook Jupiter from her concentration. It was raining outside, and through the darkness, cold rain was spattering against her windows. She squeaked happily and rushed to one of them, forgetting her obligations as she unlatched the window with a hasty finger and opened it. The cold, wet air rushed into her room, and Jupiter breathed it deeply. She loved the rain, and as the tiny droplets of water drenched her face and torso, she settled into a sort of warm, cozy depression.
Her black hair stuck to her cheeks doggedly as she stared out into the gloom, humming to herself.
"You'll catch your death of cold that way, my dear." came an amused voice from Jupiter's doorway. She smiled into the storm, not opening her eyes.
"Good morning, Draco," she said, "What brings you up here?"
Draco shrugged, though Jupiter couldn't see. "Felt like it. Didn't sleep last night."
"Hah, and you said I'm an insomniac," Jupiter said to her clock. Draco didn't understand, but as Jupiter was nearly always saying something that made no sense, he let it be.
"Thought I'd come up and wake you up in some sort of noisy and probably annoying way. However, you seem to have flouted that plan. "
"Mhmm..."
"Hey, shut that window and pay attention to me," Draco said, walking forwards and pulling the window shut with a bang. "I didn't come up here to be ignored."
She shut the window and turned around. "Didn't you? You come up to my room at 5am and expect my full attention, I suppose. You're lucky I'm awake."
Jupiter was soaked, at least from her shoulders up. Her long black hair was matted to her face, and had her window been any larger, Draco likely would have been able to see straight through her white cotton nightdress. He may have found this intriguing, had he not been totally impervious to Jupiter's charms. Not that she used them on him anyway. But, fortunately, none of this was the case. Isn't it amazing how relevant the size of one's windows are? (Insert cliche "size counts" joke here.)
"Just wanted to talk to you about something..." Draco said, aloof. He obviously, Jupiter thought, had something on his mind. He was usually much more snotty than this.
"What's that?" she asked, mocking Draco's pseudo-aloof tone. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a baggy white button-up dress shirt, and a long black skirt. She undressed, much to Draco's annoyance, and then donned her drier clothes.
"Geez, Jupiter, it's hard to be serious with you when you're naked," he said, petulantly.
"Don't see why not," Jupiter said, and sat crosslegged at the head of her bed. "It's not like you fancy me or anything. You have never shown any interest in shagging me, therefore I think my being naked in front of you is quite normal. And besides, I'm not naked now. Have a seat. Talk to me."
Draco sighed and sat on Jupiter's green comforter. It had silver lining. "Well...there's this...thing."
"Very articulate so far. What about this thing?"
"Funny. Do you want me to talk or not? Because I don't need to talk to you."
Jupiter ached to say, "I think you do. After all, why else would you have come up to my room at 5am?" but, sensing that this would go down like a lead balloon, she said instead, "Sorry."
"It's okay," said Draco, and then clammed up. Jupiter could tell the ball was in her court, now. It was her responsibility to open Draco up.
"Okay...let's see. This thing..." she began, trying to think of something to add to her marvelously constructed sentence thus far. Suddenly, inspiration came. "Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?" she asked, mischieviously.
Draco stood up angrily, and began to leave. Jupiter lunged forward and grabbed his black silk pajama pants. "Sorry! Sorry! Don't go. I couldn't help myself. Tell me your problem. Is it Potter, like usual? Dumbledore giving you a hard time? Failing Transfiguration?"
"School isn't even started yet. Not until 7," Draco said, grudgingly. She'd done it. Draco couldn't pass up a chance to correct anyone. Draco sat back down, and Jupiter did her best to look pleasant.
"Anyway...it's about my father," Draco said, and looked vaguely embarrassed for bringing the whole thing up.
"Mmm," Jupiter interrupted again, "Sex in a hair ribbon."
"Euch, Jupiter! He's my father! He's in his forties!"
"Snape's 37, what's your point?" Jupiter asked. Draco looked mutinous, and Jupiter sighed. She began wringing out her wet hair over the side of the bed. "Sorry again. So, what's Daddy Malfoy doing now?"
"Just...Trying to get me to join the Dark Side and whatnot."
Jupiter looked surprised, and sat up. "I thought you wanted that," she said, with little emotion in her voice.
"I used to think I did, I was all for it in my second year, but...I don't know...I've grown since then. I think I've grown past it." Jupiter's face didn't move. Draco couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he wasn't worried about it. At least she wasn't making wisecracks anymore. He continued speaking, blindly. "I really don't know how to deal with it. And over the summer, you see...I've made friends with a few people I know my father won't approve of, and-"
"Sod your father, Draco." Jupiter said simply.
"You're so fucking helpful, you know?" He snapped.
"Look, Draco...your father doesn't run your life, you know! He-"
"Yes, Jupiter, he does!" Draco interjected. Jupiter sat dumb.
"Well, then, I can't help you."
There was a moment of quiet wherein Draco and Jupiter both took deep breaths and harnessed their tempers. It was Draco who broke the silence, finally.
"There's another thing..." he said quietly. "You remember Champagne?"
"Champagne..." Jupiter echoed, "The Wronski girl?"
"The same."
"Yes, I remember her. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, entirely too skinny."
Draco smiled a little. "Yeah."
"What about her?"
"Well, she's been owling me." Draco began rubbing his pajamas nervously.
"She couldn't be! Not owling you! The nerve!"
"Well, you haven't read what she's been writing to me..." Draco said quietly. Jupiter's mock look of horror suddenly morphed into a wide, perverted grin.
"Tell me, Draco. Tell me what she wrote you."
Draco shook his head. "I couldn't have said that to you, even when we were dating."
Jupiter's eyebrows shot up and she paused in the braiding of her long hair for a moment, her mouth curled into a highly amused smile. "Well then, thinking of asking her out?"
Draco shook his head. "See, that's the thing. I don't know if I want to, yet. I'm not really sure how to react to these letters."
"You know, Draco. Sometimes, I really think you're gay."
"Psh. Not hardly, sorry. I'm just not as much of a sex fiend as my father. Stop giving me that look."
"What look?"
"Whenever I mention my father, you get this stupid look on your face."
"Don't get me wrong, Draco...I hate your dad. He's too much like mine. I just think he's hot. And besides, you said 'sex' and 'Lucius' in the same sentence."
"I didn't say 'Lucius', I said 'my father'."
"They're synonyms, you nitpicker."
"So, why are you up so early?" Draco asked, changing the subject oh-so- subtly.
"Had a nightmare. Have work to do. The usual. I have a lot of student profiles I was supposed to submit a week ago. Dumbledore's pretty lenient, but I need them in his office in two hours."
Draco still couldn't understand how Jupiter got to be so forward in all her classes, got to be a Prefect, and Head of Student Relations, with her lazy attitude and sarcastic tongue. He sighed. "Want some help?"
"Oughtn't you go to bed, young man?" Jupiter smiled mockingly.
"Why bother? I can't sleep anyway."
"You'd rather help me with paperwork than go back to your room and masturbate?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Maybe."
"Sure, then, by all means, have a seat." Jupiter finished braiding her hair and tied it off with a red ribbon. She shoved some papers over to Draco and explained to him what needed to be done.
"I think doing this every year qualifies you as a nutter, Jupiter."
"And volunteering to help me with it qualifies you as what, exactly?"
"You may have a point."
They began filing through student stat sheets, marking down allergies and schedules on separate sheets of papers, and laughing at irregularities in the students, not an uncommon occurence at Hogwarts.
"Quackenbush? Geez, and people make fun of my last name!" Draco said.
"People make fun of your last name?" Jupiter asked, quizzically.
"Well...no."
Jupiter chuckled, and lifted up her next bio. "Look at this one! It's a pirate!" There was a picture of a boy with grey-white hair, and an eye patch. "Jason 'Chaos' Aberidge. Chaos? Sounds more like a professional Quidditch player bio than a student one. And he's a giant, apparently. Six- foot-six. Wow."
"Let me see," Draco said, and took the paper from her. "He's 18, and a pure blood. Only he's an orphan, now, if that term applies to 18 year olds. Lives with aunt in London...boring boring boring...la la la..." Draco continued to mumble as he looked it over. "Sounds like a real head case."
"Well, they do mention that his previous school was a mental institution."
"Well, I know who I'm not sitting next to at lunch," said Draco, "All the weirdness of an entire Gryffindor dorm room in one student."
They marked his information down and continued filing through papers until 6:30. Jupiter pressed a small button by her window, and soon, Fawkes came swooping down. They'd worked that out last year, as Fawkes was more able to carry all the packets of information up than a normal owl. When the phoenix flew out the window, Jupiter turned to Draco.
"Escort me to breakfast?" she asked, smiling. Draco nodded, and Jupiter grabbed her school robes, donned them, and the two walked down to the Great Hall, arm in arm.
***
When she and Draco arrived at the Slytherin table, which was on the far end of the Great Hall, Jupiter pointed at a familiar silver-blond head. "Look, it's him, it's 'Chaos'."
"Well then," said Draco, "You'd better go talk to him. It would appear I have to attend to Pansy."
"Pansy...ah, yes. You two have more in common than just her first name."
Draco rolled his eyes, and wandered over to the empty seat next to Pansy, who immediately began to fawn all over him. Jupiter laughed quietly, some girls were so weird. She, of course, never did that to anyone. Ever. Really. Honest!
She made her way over to the silver-haired boy and sat down. For a minute, she wondered whether the motley grey-white of his hair was natural, or a weird sort of charm gone wrong. Not that it mattered.
"Good morning, Chaos," she said, and smiled at him. She delighted in knowing everyone's name before having met them. But the boy's pale face was devoid of any of the usual shock. Instead, spread across it was the most crooked, disturbing smile* Jupiter had ever seen. Jupiter goggled at him, and scooted a little to her left, to avoid sitting too close to him.
"Good morning, Lady," he said, and his voice was...indescribable. But the effort will be made. It was not deep, nor was it high. It was a little raspy, yet had a tendency to slide over words. Imagine taking a smooth piece of glass, covering it in honey, and rubbing it against a piece of coarse sandpaper, and that is almost how his voice sounded. Jupiter hadn't, in her entire life, heard a voice like it.
Ju said nothing. As if she hadn't all ready known, this boy was certainly far from normal. His profile information came rushing back to her. What was he institutionalized for? Criminal insanity? Borderline personality disorder? Kleptomania? She couldn't remember. Whatever the charges, Jupiter suddenly decided she no longer wanted to be next to the boy. She stood and moved to the opposite side of the table, a few seats away from him.
She began nibbling on her breakfast, though she wasn't terribly hungry. Halfway through her toast (with sliced tomato and melted cheese and bacon on it - mmm!), she became away of a distinct snuffling noise. She turned around to see what caused it, and came nose-to-nose with Chaos.
"You smell of mint, Lady," he said quietly, and Jupiter just stared. His face contorted again into what must be loosely termed a smile, though there was no joy in it. He stood above her, not moving, and Jupiter was only aware of his hot breath on her neck. She shivered and stood, dropping her toast into her pumpkin juice, and rushed off. He did not follow.
***
Later, Jupiter discovered that she had a few classes with the new boy, one of which was Potions, which was second period. She walked into the room, and looked at the walls. Her stomach gave a sick lurch of longing as her eyes scanned the walls of jars and the empty desk.
She moved to her usual seat, next to Pandora Vetinari. Pandora was a tall, slim, and intelligent Slytherin girl with a huge Malfoy fetish.
Moments later, Chaos walked in and saw Jupiter. He paused in his loping walk and have her the familiar, disgruntling Grin. He then strode over, long arms swinging, and plopped heavily into the seat directly behind Jupiter. She shivered at the thought of having his eyes on her for the rest of the year, and yearned to move. Sadly, seats were assigned, and this was not possible.
Pandora leaned over and said, "What a strange looking boy, is he new?"
Jupiter nodded. "He gives me the creeps. He SMELLED me earlier!"
"It's hard not to. You wear a lot of perfume."
"It's not perfume," Jupiter began defensively, "it's an oil, a lotion. And I don't wear lots of it. It's just very strong. I'm not even wearing any today!"
"Suit yourself. It smells like you're wearing it."
"Any case, I meant he leaned over and sniffed me. It was weird."
"Well," Pandora said, "Slytherins aren't always know for their sanity. After all, Millicent Bulstrode once bit a hippogriff, and-"
Jupiter had stopped paying attention. She wondered who'd be filling in for Severus today, since he was off spying. She bent down to look through her bag for her schedule, so she could check and see if it said.
The classroom door opened and shut, and Jupiter was just pulling her schedule out of a side pocket when she heard a strict clearing of the throat. She snapped up in her seat and looked straight ahead, hardly daring to believe what her eyes told her. It was Snape! She resisted the urge to squeal in delight and instead, sat raptly at attention. He looked gaunt and tired, more so than usual, but no one else seemed to notice, much less care.
"Welcome to Potions class," he said, though he didn't sound at all welcoming, "I would like to say that it will be a competant year, but I doubt it. All I can honestly hope for is that some of you will leave this class marginally more intelligent than you were previously," he said in a low monotone, his eyes flicking distastefully over the Gryffindor side of the classroom.
Jupiter turned her thoughts back to Severus, who was checking that everyone had their textbooks. A Gryffindor, typically, didn't have his, and lost Gryffindor five points. The Gryffindors groaned and lost another two for complaining about a fair punishment. Most of the Slytherins sniggered smugly, which Snape ignored. Things seemed to be normal.
Snape gave them a written assignment about potion ingredients, and things pretty much progressed as usual, except that Jupiter had a lot more questions than were really warranted.
Being an avid Potions student, she knew all the answers, but why should she pass up a great opportunity? It was a perfect excuse to have Severus hovering over her, and pointing out various principles and rules of potion- making, all of which she'd known since her first year. She could smell him, she could feel his body heat against her back as he leaned over her.
Severus seemed to note her sudden stupidity, too, because when she raised her hand for the umpteenth time he said, with a touch of cruel amusement, "Since, Miss Vrij, you seem to have left your brains in your common room, why don't you see me after class."
It was not a question, and it was not phrased nicely. The Gryffindors gasped at Snape making a mean comment to one of his precious Slytherins, but Jupiter was ecstatic.
Jupiter failed to pay attention all through the rest of the class, which Snape turned a blind eye to. When class was finally over, Jupiter waved good-bye to a few of her friends, who winked devilishly at her, and she laughed. Then the classroom was empty, except for the two. Snape shut the door and walked over to where Jupiter was standing. He didn't speak, or do anything except stare at Jupiter. Jupiter looked at the floor and broke the silence.
"I-I've missed you a lot, Severus," Jupiter said. Snape said nothing, so Jupiter spoke to fill the space, "It's been hard without you not owling all summer. I've kept asking Dumbledore about you, and even he's not always sure if you're all right. It's been hell without you! How have things been with you? Is everything well? Voldemort hasn't tried to hurt you, has he?" There was a long silence, and Severus's head was hanging tiredly. "...Severus? Severus, are you all right?"
Snape lifted his head with some difficulty. "For Christ's sake, no, Jupiter! I've spent the last two months running around, doing errands for the Dark Lord! Just being in his presence takes everything out of me. He suspects me of being unfaithful, and being around even the dumber Death Eaters reduces me to a nervous, paranoid wreck. I don't know how long I can keep doing this. Now shut up and just let me have a moment of peace with you. Please," he added harshly, his black eyes losing a bit of their anger.
Jupiter nodded apologetically and Severus wrapped her up in his arms. She hugged him back, and they stood that way for what seemed an hour, before Severus pulled away, breathing heavily. Jupiter suspected it wasn't being in such close proximity to her that was causing his breath to come quickly.
"Severus, are you all right?" Jupiter asked, approaching him and placing a pale hand on his black-clad chest. He said nothing, but Jupiter could feel his heart pounding. "Severus-"
Jupiter had no time to finish her sentence before Snape stepped forward angrily, snapped Jupiter up in his arms, and kissed her viciously on the lips. It was full of tension and passion and frustration and heartache, and it ended all too soon. He pulled away and Jupiter gave a disappointed noise, and fell into Severus's chest. She tilted her face up to his and whispered, "Do it again."
Snape sighed heavily, released Jupiter and stalked away across the room.
"Go to your class," he growled, and fell into his chair, digging his fingers into his hair. Jupiter felt as if she would cry, he was not usually this harsh with her. Of course, she reminded herself, it's been more of a hell for him these past two months that it's been for me. I should be more understanding.
She stood for a pensive moment, and watched as Snape rifled mercilessly through papers on his desk. She knew he wasn't reading them, but he knew that Jupiter would leave if he looked busy. She decided to oblige him, and headed to her next class.
***
The rest of her day flew by uneventfully, with Jupiter paying most of her attention to the class (if only to avoid the pain that struck through her when she thought of Severus), except for the classes she had with the new boy. He didn't talk to anyone, indeed, everyone seemed afraid of him. Jupiter didn't blame them. He seemed to have taken a liking to her specifically, because he always sat near her. In fact, he managed to sit directly next to her in her last period, which was Advanced Divination.
After a few days of being constantly panted at and stalked, Jupiter was getting highly paranoid, and more than a little annoyed.
She went outside after last period, breathing heavily. Why was he following her? Why couldn't he stop staring at her? It wasn't as if she was stunningly beautiful or anything. It was so hard to concentrate on anything with that great green eye ogling her every move. She walked past the lake, kicking pebbles angrily in front of her.
Why hadn't she just ignored him? Why did she have to be cocky and approach him in the first place? "Damn me," she thought viciously, "Damn me and my stupid ideas."
Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, with a good idea of who it was. She was right. Chaos stood behind her, with his evil- looking, crooked smile stretched across his face.
"Lady," he began, "You smell of mint."
"I'm sure we've been through this before!" Jupiter cried, her short temper flaring. She had flown long enough, now it was time to fight. "Quit following me! Stop drooling on me! And for pity's sake, stop calling me Lady! My name is Jupiter!" With her outburst, she smacked him across his face. Then she stepped back, realising what she'd done. She prepared to run. But Chaos did not advance on her.
"Thank you, Lady," he whispered, and strode off in an odd sort of fashion. Juipiter stood frozen for a moment, then took off running as fast as she could, and didn't stop until she'd skidded into the Slytherin common room and jumped onto the leather couch, curling up underneath Draco's arm (curiously Pansy-free).
"Draco, you remember that Chaos guy?" she murmured into his chest.
"The only one in Hogwarts crazier than you, you mean?"
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Yes, him. He's fucking terrifying. He follows me around, and keeps telling me I smell of mint."
Draco looked calmly at Ju, and said, sagely, "Well, you do, you know. Rather strongly, I-"
"Draco! This is not about the way I smell! Would everyone leave the way I smell alone? This is about a weird boy who keeps sitting next to me and calling me 'Lady'!"
"God forbid!" Draco said, with mock offense, "Not that!"
"Shut up, Draco. I mean it."
"Well, what do you want me to do about it? Beat him up for you?"
"You'd do that for me?" she asked.
"No, not really,"
"I didn't think so. Besides," Jupiter added, "You couldn't beat him up. He's twice your size."
Draco was about to say something indignant when the door swung open and Chaos walked in. He had leaves in his hair and grass stains on his robes. He offered everyone in the common room a crooked Grin and headed into the dorms.
Jupiter looked at Draco, who smiled evilly.
"He has such a charming smile, don't you think?"
Jupiter hit him with a cushion.
***
It was the next day, and, happily, a Saturday. Jupiter was out on the grounds, enjoying the last of the summer the best way she knew how - reading. But, sadly, she was not to finish Robin Hood that day, as she was interrupted by the most unlikely of people.
"Hello, Jupiter!" called a boy from a little way away. She looked up from her book, over to where the call had come from. There were two boys there. One was tall, lanky, and red-haired. He was standing next to a shorter, black-haired boy. They made their way over to her.
The red-haired one leaned against a nearby tree, looking vaguely annoyed, but the other one approached Jupiter's reclining form.
"How are you?" the short one asked her.
"I'm fine..." she said slowly, "How do you know who I am? You're neither seventh years nor Slytherins."
"My name is Harry Potter, and this is my friend, Ron Weasley, and-"
"I know who you are. I didn't ask that. I asked how you knew who I am."
"Um...Everyone knows who you are," said Harry. He obviously wasn't used to this sort of reaction from anyone.
"Sure they do. So what do you want, my brave little Gryffindors?"
"We just wanted to say hi!" Harry said, and smiled at her. Jupiter's jovial air cooled a little and she looked at Harry, trying to see any sign of mischief, any hint of smugness.
"Well. Hi then," Jupiter said, a cold edge in her voice. She closed her book and stood up. "But if you'll excuse me, I have some Hufflepuffs to hang. I'll see you around," and, with that, she began to walk off.
"Wait! I mean, don't go!" Harry cried out. Jupiter turned again and looked at him.
"Argh. Tell me what it is you want so I can continue being mean to the first-years. So many wedgies to give."
"Where's Draco?" Harry turned a little red and added meekly, "I mean Malfoy." Jupiter looked at him oddly.
"As a matter of fact, I don't know. But if you'd like to leave your name, number, and a short message, he'll get back to you," Jupiter said, and smiled sarcastically. Ron looked about ready to slug her, but Harry forced a laugh.
"Well, do you want to hang out?" Harry asked. Ron looked at him incredulously, but Harry ignored it. Jupiter's face echoed Ron's.
"What? 'Hang out'? Potter, are you nuts? Bludger hit you in the head a couple too many times? I'm a Slytherin, remember? I worship the Dark Lord and eat babies?"
It took all of Harry's willpower to maintain his smile. They can't all be like this, Draco's a decent enough guy... "Well, if you see him, will you tell him we want to talk to him?"
"What is it, 'Take a Slytherin Under Your Noble Wing' day? Since when do Gryffindors go looking for Slytherins? Are you going to 'hang out' with him, too?" Jupiter asked, quirking an eyebrow and frowning slightly.
"Geez, I just wanted to know! I'd forgotten how annoying you Slytherins are!" Harry snapped, and walked off. Ron followed him, shouting I-told-you- so's the whole way.
"You dumb Gryffindorks can't even take jokes." Jupiter snapped, and Harry stopped in his tracks.
Slowly, to Jupiter's amazement, he walked back. He seemed resigned, and sighed. "Will you tell Draco we want him?"
"Well," began Jupiter, the side of her mouth twitching up, "I really don't think he's into threesomes, but sure, I'll tell him."
"Harry! Harry!" three boys were rushing up to the group of people, smiling and waving something in the air. "Look at this!" It was a newspaper clipping.
"What is it?" asked Harry. Jupiter couldn't help but be intrigued. She walked a bit closer to the small, energetic group of Gryffies.
"So," she thought to herself, "This is what Gryffindors do."
"I'll read it to you," said one boy, who Jupiter vaguely recognized as Colin Creevey. "It says:
Recently in Mortein City, home to the Elemental Castles, there was a reported break-in at The Museum of Knicked Knick-Knacks, the popular museum of previously stolen artifacts. Sources say, though, that nothing was stolen. In other news, the Castle of Shadow, long-time tourist attraction and filming place of 'The Muggle', has been shut down for undisclosed reasons.
-Do you suppose that might mean something?" Colin finished, hope gleaming in his eyes. Jupiter laughed hard.
"Don't you suppose it's a bit early in the year to be seeing Dark Lords everywhere?"
Colin blushed a bright red, and Harry glared at Jupiter. Jupiter smiled sweetly, and then turned her attention to the other boy. He was chubby- cheeked and had ear-length sandy brown hair.
"I almost remember you...What's your name again? Nero Longstocking?" she asked, looking under a floppy bit of hair, as if that would help.
"Neville Longbottom," he corrected reproachfully. Jupiter smiled.
"I know. I'm only teasing. It's what we Slytherins do."
"I was under the impression that one thing Slytherins did not do, is hang out with Gryffindors." Jupiter looked at the source of the voice. It was Hermione Granger, know-it-all extraordinaire.
"Ah, yes," Jupiter smiled, straightening up, "More Gryffindors. I'll be the envy of all my friends."
Hermione gave Jupiter a scrutinizing look, and Jupiter merely looked amused. "Hi, Nondescript Gryffindor #56. May I help you?"
Hermione ignored her, and then turned to her friends, who began discussing the article. Jupiter couldn't have cared less, so she began surveying the rest of the group.
She noticed one boy - wasn't his name Sean O'Malley? Something Irish. Finnigan, that's right. Seamus Finnigan. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was also grinning at her. Jupiter looked down to make sure all her body parts were sufficiently covered, and then noticed that she was now carrying neither her wand nor her book. She must have left them back by the tree. She turned to go retrieve them, when Seamus whistled.
She turned back to see Seamus holding her wand in one hand, and her book in the other. In a second, he was sprinting off across the courtyard. Jupiter took off after him.
"If this is your idea of flirting, Finnigan, I'll tell you now that I only like older men!" she cried, but Seamus appeared not to hear her. "You lousy Gryffindor, give me...back...my wand..."
Jupiter slowed to a stop and fell to the ground. She was clutching her chest and throat with her hands, and was desperately trying to breathe. Within moments, all the Gryffindors had crowded around her, blocking out the red twilight that was shining in her eyes.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked, leaning over her.
"I have (gasp) asthma, and it's (wheeze) horrid," Jupiter lapsed into a coughing fit, "And if I ever get my (deep breath) hands on him, (yawn) Finnigan's dead," she said, between wheezing breaths.
Hermione looked snooty. "Well, you did start it."
"Start it?!" Jupiter cried hoarsely, "I did (gasp) not!"
Harry snatched Jupiter's wand from Seamus's hand and handed it to Jupiter, who ignored its presence on her lap. If she'd looked up, she would have seen Seamus looking acutely embarrassed, and she probably would have been surprised. That, however, was lost on her.
"What's going on?" came a boy's voice from outside the circle.
"Hello," Jupiter wheezed again, "Draco."
"Jupiter, what the hell are you doing surrounded by Gryffindors?"
"They're my (wheeze) Gryffindor Sixth Years collection (gasp). I've nearly got the (cough) whole set!" she said.
Draco pointed his wand at her chest and said "Respiro."
Soon, Jupiter's breathing returned to normal. She stood up and looked at Finnigan. "You," she said, "Are an idiot!" And she stormed off. Seamus looked angry, but the rest of the group shushed him, and they walked off.
And so it was that Jupiter left the courtyard, and went to the Slytherin girls' dorm. She went to the end of the dormitory and opened the door to her room, profoundly glad that prefects get their own quarters. She shut the door and walked over to her bed. With no more ado, she lay down, and fell asleep.
Also, this story is based off of a roleplaying game called Hogwarts: On Crack. That, in and of itself, should tip you off that, as much as I try, this fic is not going to be totally canon. I'm sorry to disappoint you.
Also, this IS the sequel to "For the Love of Potions", so it will not totally make sense unless you read the first. I'd like to make it a standalone fic, but as of now...I can't. So you can either brave the fic without reading its predecessor, or read the first one. I don't care which. Eventually, I am also going to add some history of Jupiter's family.
About the Characters: Most of the characters in this story do not belong to me. The canon HP characters, obviously, belong to JK Rowling, and the original characters are credited at the beginning of each chapter.
Now, I would like to say something about our "heroine", Jupiter. Jupiter is the result of years of character development. I try the best I can not to make her a Mary-Sue, though, obviously, a relationship with the Potions Professor seriously compromises that. As such, I'd been thinking of taking an existing, but little-known Slytherin, and using her. Blaise Zabini, to be precise. I decided against this, as I am currently working on another fic involving Blaise, and would not want them to get confused.
Chaos, also, is very...how do you say? Bad. He has no personality, and he never will. I used to think he was cute. Now I basically hate him. He is currently only in the story as a plot device, though I may replace him with someone later on. I would just like to apologise for him in advance.
So please, bear with me.
About Reviewing: Reviews are very much appreciated, but not compulsory. However, if you are going to review, please tell me what you did or did not like, instead of an "I love this" or "u suxx0rz". Also, corrections as far as typographical, capitalization, punctuational, spelling, grammatical, or American errors (I do try to write like I'm British) are most definitely welcome and encouraged.
Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction. And now, on with the show! ...Er, fic.
-Katu
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It was a a dark morning in August, and Jupiter had just awoken. She'd had the dream again, the nightmare that had haunted her since she was tiny. Only now it had her vision from the Hall of Shadow in it.
A succession of images, Voldemort's red eyes, boring into her own blue ones. A deep, but raspy voice coming from high above her head. Her parents leaving her in the drawing room, alone. The rest of the night spent leaned up against the grate, next to the great, cold fireplace. The ashes that she allowed to sting her eyes, and the desperate, panicked throbbing of her tiny heart, hoping that her Dark Lord would return and say there'd been a mistake.
Then, a rush of red wind, and there, before her, stood Severus. Beaten and broken, his red-rimmed eyes barely focusing on her face, his pale countenance swaying from side to side. The Dark Mark on his arm, burning with a black flame, and then the same red eyes appearing behind him...the same raspy voice, staking claim over him, and then a sudden loss of sight, and the abrupt return to reality-
She sat up in bed, holding her sheets to her heaving chest, and slowly waited for the fear to subside and her heartbeat to slow. It was only a dream, no matter how realistic. Her breathing returned to normal, and she tried to ignore the burning depression that set in, replacing the heart- rending fear. She thought of him again, and how she missed him.
Severus had been gone for two months now, spying again for Dumbledore. Jupiter was naturally concerned about him, and very upset that she didn't get to see him anymore. Occasionally she would see him, walking through the hallways, looking like a man who had hang-glided over hell. She would shout to him, and sometimes he would hear, sometimes he wouldn't. If he did hear, he'd send her a glance over his shoulder. It would be sorrowful and lonely, but it was something. She found herself scanning the hallways for him each and every day, hoping she would see him. She rarely did.
As she got dressed, she switched to more happy thoughts, such as the fact that classes start today, and how she still had filing to do. She looked over at the clock on her nightstand. It dutifully chimed out, "It's 5am, you insomniac. Go back to sleep."
Jupiter laughed half-heartedly. "I would, but I don't want to return to my dream. And besides, I have a lot of work to do."
"Suit yourself. But bags under the eyes are very unattractive, you know!"
Jupiter swung her legs out of bed, and put her feet on the floor. She stood up and looked down at her night-dressed form. She wished, vaguely, that she was thinner, but shrugged off the thought, and reached for her paperwork. She piled it up on her bed, and began filing.
A sudden crack of lightning and roll of thunder shook Jupiter from her concentration. It was raining outside, and through the darkness, cold rain was spattering against her windows. She squeaked happily and rushed to one of them, forgetting her obligations as she unlatched the window with a hasty finger and opened it. The cold, wet air rushed into her room, and Jupiter breathed it deeply. She loved the rain, and as the tiny droplets of water drenched her face and torso, she settled into a sort of warm, cozy depression.
Her black hair stuck to her cheeks doggedly as she stared out into the gloom, humming to herself.
"You'll catch your death of cold that way, my dear." came an amused voice from Jupiter's doorway. She smiled into the storm, not opening her eyes.
"Good morning, Draco," she said, "What brings you up here?"
Draco shrugged, though Jupiter couldn't see. "Felt like it. Didn't sleep last night."
"Hah, and you said I'm an insomniac," Jupiter said to her clock. Draco didn't understand, but as Jupiter was nearly always saying something that made no sense, he let it be.
"Thought I'd come up and wake you up in some sort of noisy and probably annoying way. However, you seem to have flouted that plan. "
"Mhmm..."
"Hey, shut that window and pay attention to me," Draco said, walking forwards and pulling the window shut with a bang. "I didn't come up here to be ignored."
She shut the window and turned around. "Didn't you? You come up to my room at 5am and expect my full attention, I suppose. You're lucky I'm awake."
Jupiter was soaked, at least from her shoulders up. Her long black hair was matted to her face, and had her window been any larger, Draco likely would have been able to see straight through her white cotton nightdress. He may have found this intriguing, had he not been totally impervious to Jupiter's charms. Not that she used them on him anyway. But, fortunately, none of this was the case. Isn't it amazing how relevant the size of one's windows are? (Insert cliche "size counts" joke here.)
"Just wanted to talk to you about something..." Draco said, aloof. He obviously, Jupiter thought, had something on his mind. He was usually much more snotty than this.
"What's that?" she asked, mocking Draco's pseudo-aloof tone. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a baggy white button-up dress shirt, and a long black skirt. She undressed, much to Draco's annoyance, and then donned her drier clothes.
"Geez, Jupiter, it's hard to be serious with you when you're naked," he said, petulantly.
"Don't see why not," Jupiter said, and sat crosslegged at the head of her bed. "It's not like you fancy me or anything. You have never shown any interest in shagging me, therefore I think my being naked in front of you is quite normal. And besides, I'm not naked now. Have a seat. Talk to me."
Draco sighed and sat on Jupiter's green comforter. It had silver lining. "Well...there's this...thing."
"Very articulate so far. What about this thing?"
"Funny. Do you want me to talk or not? Because I don't need to talk to you."
Jupiter ached to say, "I think you do. After all, why else would you have come up to my room at 5am?" but, sensing that this would go down like a lead balloon, she said instead, "Sorry."
"It's okay," said Draco, and then clammed up. Jupiter could tell the ball was in her court, now. It was her responsibility to open Draco up.
"Okay...let's see. This thing..." she began, trying to think of something to add to her marvelously constructed sentence thus far. Suddenly, inspiration came. "Is it animal, vegetable, or mineral?" she asked, mischieviously.
Draco stood up angrily, and began to leave. Jupiter lunged forward and grabbed his black silk pajama pants. "Sorry! Sorry! Don't go. I couldn't help myself. Tell me your problem. Is it Potter, like usual? Dumbledore giving you a hard time? Failing Transfiguration?"
"School isn't even started yet. Not until 7," Draco said, grudgingly. She'd done it. Draco couldn't pass up a chance to correct anyone. Draco sat back down, and Jupiter did her best to look pleasant.
"Anyway...it's about my father," Draco said, and looked vaguely embarrassed for bringing the whole thing up.
"Mmm," Jupiter interrupted again, "Sex in a hair ribbon."
"Euch, Jupiter! He's my father! He's in his forties!"
"Snape's 37, what's your point?" Jupiter asked. Draco looked mutinous, and Jupiter sighed. She began wringing out her wet hair over the side of the bed. "Sorry again. So, what's Daddy Malfoy doing now?"
"Just...Trying to get me to join the Dark Side and whatnot."
Jupiter looked surprised, and sat up. "I thought you wanted that," she said, with little emotion in her voice.
"I used to think I did, I was all for it in my second year, but...I don't know...I've grown since then. I think I've grown past it." Jupiter's face didn't move. Draco couldn't tell what she was thinking, but he wasn't worried about it. At least she wasn't making wisecracks anymore. He continued speaking, blindly. "I really don't know how to deal with it. And over the summer, you see...I've made friends with a few people I know my father won't approve of, and-"
"Sod your father, Draco." Jupiter said simply.
"You're so fucking helpful, you know?" He snapped.
"Look, Draco...your father doesn't run your life, you know! He-"
"Yes, Jupiter, he does!" Draco interjected. Jupiter sat dumb.
"Well, then, I can't help you."
There was a moment of quiet wherein Draco and Jupiter both took deep breaths and harnessed their tempers. It was Draco who broke the silence, finally.
"There's another thing..." he said quietly. "You remember Champagne?"
"Champagne..." Jupiter echoed, "The Wronski girl?"
"The same."
"Yes, I remember her. Long blonde hair, blue eyes, entirely too skinny."
Draco smiled a little. "Yeah."
"What about her?"
"Well, she's been owling me." Draco began rubbing his pajamas nervously.
"She couldn't be! Not owling you! The nerve!"
"Well, you haven't read what she's been writing to me..." Draco said quietly. Jupiter's mock look of horror suddenly morphed into a wide, perverted grin.
"Tell me, Draco. Tell me what she wrote you."
Draco shook his head. "I couldn't have said that to you, even when we were dating."
Jupiter's eyebrows shot up and she paused in the braiding of her long hair for a moment, her mouth curled into a highly amused smile. "Well then, thinking of asking her out?"
Draco shook his head. "See, that's the thing. I don't know if I want to, yet. I'm not really sure how to react to these letters."
"You know, Draco. Sometimes, I really think you're gay."
"Psh. Not hardly, sorry. I'm just not as much of a sex fiend as my father. Stop giving me that look."
"What look?"
"Whenever I mention my father, you get this stupid look on your face."
"Don't get me wrong, Draco...I hate your dad. He's too much like mine. I just think he's hot. And besides, you said 'sex' and 'Lucius' in the same sentence."
"I didn't say 'Lucius', I said 'my father'."
"They're synonyms, you nitpicker."
"So, why are you up so early?" Draco asked, changing the subject oh-so- subtly.
"Had a nightmare. Have work to do. The usual. I have a lot of student profiles I was supposed to submit a week ago. Dumbledore's pretty lenient, but I need them in his office in two hours."
Draco still couldn't understand how Jupiter got to be so forward in all her classes, got to be a Prefect, and Head of Student Relations, with her lazy attitude and sarcastic tongue. He sighed. "Want some help?"
"Oughtn't you go to bed, young man?" Jupiter smiled mockingly.
"Why bother? I can't sleep anyway."
"You'd rather help me with paperwork than go back to your room and masturbate?"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Maybe."
"Sure, then, by all means, have a seat." Jupiter finished braiding her hair and tied it off with a red ribbon. She shoved some papers over to Draco and explained to him what needed to be done.
"I think doing this every year qualifies you as a nutter, Jupiter."
"And volunteering to help me with it qualifies you as what, exactly?"
"You may have a point."
They began filing through student stat sheets, marking down allergies and schedules on separate sheets of papers, and laughing at irregularities in the students, not an uncommon occurence at Hogwarts.
"Quackenbush? Geez, and people make fun of my last name!" Draco said.
"People make fun of your last name?" Jupiter asked, quizzically.
"Well...no."
Jupiter chuckled, and lifted up her next bio. "Look at this one! It's a pirate!" There was a picture of a boy with grey-white hair, and an eye patch. "Jason 'Chaos' Aberidge. Chaos? Sounds more like a professional Quidditch player bio than a student one. And he's a giant, apparently. Six- foot-six. Wow."
"Let me see," Draco said, and took the paper from her. "He's 18, and a pure blood. Only he's an orphan, now, if that term applies to 18 year olds. Lives with aunt in London...boring boring boring...la la la..." Draco continued to mumble as he looked it over. "Sounds like a real head case."
"Well, they do mention that his previous school was a mental institution."
"Well, I know who I'm not sitting next to at lunch," said Draco, "All the weirdness of an entire Gryffindor dorm room in one student."
They marked his information down and continued filing through papers until 6:30. Jupiter pressed a small button by her window, and soon, Fawkes came swooping down. They'd worked that out last year, as Fawkes was more able to carry all the packets of information up than a normal owl. When the phoenix flew out the window, Jupiter turned to Draco.
"Escort me to breakfast?" she asked, smiling. Draco nodded, and Jupiter grabbed her school robes, donned them, and the two walked down to the Great Hall, arm in arm.
***
When she and Draco arrived at the Slytherin table, which was on the far end of the Great Hall, Jupiter pointed at a familiar silver-blond head. "Look, it's him, it's 'Chaos'."
"Well then," said Draco, "You'd better go talk to him. It would appear I have to attend to Pansy."
"Pansy...ah, yes. You two have more in common than just her first name."
Draco rolled his eyes, and wandered over to the empty seat next to Pansy, who immediately began to fawn all over him. Jupiter laughed quietly, some girls were so weird. She, of course, never did that to anyone. Ever. Really. Honest!
She made her way over to the silver-haired boy and sat down. For a minute, she wondered whether the motley grey-white of his hair was natural, or a weird sort of charm gone wrong. Not that it mattered.
"Good morning, Chaos," she said, and smiled at him. She delighted in knowing everyone's name before having met them. But the boy's pale face was devoid of any of the usual shock. Instead, spread across it was the most crooked, disturbing smile* Jupiter had ever seen. Jupiter goggled at him, and scooted a little to her left, to avoid sitting too close to him.
"Good morning, Lady," he said, and his voice was...indescribable. But the effort will be made. It was not deep, nor was it high. It was a little raspy, yet had a tendency to slide over words. Imagine taking a smooth piece of glass, covering it in honey, and rubbing it against a piece of coarse sandpaper, and that is almost how his voice sounded. Jupiter hadn't, in her entire life, heard a voice like it.
Ju said nothing. As if she hadn't all ready known, this boy was certainly far from normal. His profile information came rushing back to her. What was he institutionalized for? Criminal insanity? Borderline personality disorder? Kleptomania? She couldn't remember. Whatever the charges, Jupiter suddenly decided she no longer wanted to be next to the boy. She stood and moved to the opposite side of the table, a few seats away from him.
She began nibbling on her breakfast, though she wasn't terribly hungry. Halfway through her toast (with sliced tomato and melted cheese and bacon on it - mmm!), she became away of a distinct snuffling noise. She turned around to see what caused it, and came nose-to-nose with Chaos.
"You smell of mint, Lady," he said quietly, and Jupiter just stared. His face contorted again into what must be loosely termed a smile, though there was no joy in it. He stood above her, not moving, and Jupiter was only aware of his hot breath on her neck. She shivered and stood, dropping her toast into her pumpkin juice, and rushed off. He did not follow.
***
Later, Jupiter discovered that she had a few classes with the new boy, one of which was Potions, which was second period. She walked into the room, and looked at the walls. Her stomach gave a sick lurch of longing as her eyes scanned the walls of jars and the empty desk.
She moved to her usual seat, next to Pandora Vetinari. Pandora was a tall, slim, and intelligent Slytherin girl with a huge Malfoy fetish.
Moments later, Chaos walked in and saw Jupiter. He paused in his loping walk and have her the familiar, disgruntling Grin. He then strode over, long arms swinging, and plopped heavily into the seat directly behind Jupiter. She shivered at the thought of having his eyes on her for the rest of the year, and yearned to move. Sadly, seats were assigned, and this was not possible.
Pandora leaned over and said, "What a strange looking boy, is he new?"
Jupiter nodded. "He gives me the creeps. He SMELLED me earlier!"
"It's hard not to. You wear a lot of perfume."
"It's not perfume," Jupiter began defensively, "it's an oil, a lotion. And I don't wear lots of it. It's just very strong. I'm not even wearing any today!"
"Suit yourself. It smells like you're wearing it."
"Any case, I meant he leaned over and sniffed me. It was weird."
"Well," Pandora said, "Slytherins aren't always know for their sanity. After all, Millicent Bulstrode once bit a hippogriff, and-"
Jupiter had stopped paying attention. She wondered who'd be filling in for Severus today, since he was off spying. She bent down to look through her bag for her schedule, so she could check and see if it said.
The classroom door opened and shut, and Jupiter was just pulling her schedule out of a side pocket when she heard a strict clearing of the throat. She snapped up in her seat and looked straight ahead, hardly daring to believe what her eyes told her. It was Snape! She resisted the urge to squeal in delight and instead, sat raptly at attention. He looked gaunt and tired, more so than usual, but no one else seemed to notice, much less care.
"Welcome to Potions class," he said, though he didn't sound at all welcoming, "I would like to say that it will be a competant year, but I doubt it. All I can honestly hope for is that some of you will leave this class marginally more intelligent than you were previously," he said in a low monotone, his eyes flicking distastefully over the Gryffindor side of the classroom.
Jupiter turned her thoughts back to Severus, who was checking that everyone had their textbooks. A Gryffindor, typically, didn't have his, and lost Gryffindor five points. The Gryffindors groaned and lost another two for complaining about a fair punishment. Most of the Slytherins sniggered smugly, which Snape ignored. Things seemed to be normal.
Snape gave them a written assignment about potion ingredients, and things pretty much progressed as usual, except that Jupiter had a lot more questions than were really warranted.
Being an avid Potions student, she knew all the answers, but why should she pass up a great opportunity? It was a perfect excuse to have Severus hovering over her, and pointing out various principles and rules of potion- making, all of which she'd known since her first year. She could smell him, she could feel his body heat against her back as he leaned over her.
Severus seemed to note her sudden stupidity, too, because when she raised her hand for the umpteenth time he said, with a touch of cruel amusement, "Since, Miss Vrij, you seem to have left your brains in your common room, why don't you see me after class."
It was not a question, and it was not phrased nicely. The Gryffindors gasped at Snape making a mean comment to one of his precious Slytherins, but Jupiter was ecstatic.
Jupiter failed to pay attention all through the rest of the class, which Snape turned a blind eye to. When class was finally over, Jupiter waved good-bye to a few of her friends, who winked devilishly at her, and she laughed. Then the classroom was empty, except for the two. Snape shut the door and walked over to where Jupiter was standing. He didn't speak, or do anything except stare at Jupiter. Jupiter looked at the floor and broke the silence.
"I-I've missed you a lot, Severus," Jupiter said. Snape said nothing, so Jupiter spoke to fill the space, "It's been hard without you not owling all summer. I've kept asking Dumbledore about you, and even he's not always sure if you're all right. It's been hell without you! How have things been with you? Is everything well? Voldemort hasn't tried to hurt you, has he?" There was a long silence, and Severus's head was hanging tiredly. "...Severus? Severus, are you all right?"
Snape lifted his head with some difficulty. "For Christ's sake, no, Jupiter! I've spent the last two months running around, doing errands for the Dark Lord! Just being in his presence takes everything out of me. He suspects me of being unfaithful, and being around even the dumber Death Eaters reduces me to a nervous, paranoid wreck. I don't know how long I can keep doing this. Now shut up and just let me have a moment of peace with you. Please," he added harshly, his black eyes losing a bit of their anger.
Jupiter nodded apologetically and Severus wrapped her up in his arms. She hugged him back, and they stood that way for what seemed an hour, before Severus pulled away, breathing heavily. Jupiter suspected it wasn't being in such close proximity to her that was causing his breath to come quickly.
"Severus, are you all right?" Jupiter asked, approaching him and placing a pale hand on his black-clad chest. He said nothing, but Jupiter could feel his heart pounding. "Severus-"
Jupiter had no time to finish her sentence before Snape stepped forward angrily, snapped Jupiter up in his arms, and kissed her viciously on the lips. It was full of tension and passion and frustration and heartache, and it ended all too soon. He pulled away and Jupiter gave a disappointed noise, and fell into Severus's chest. She tilted her face up to his and whispered, "Do it again."
Snape sighed heavily, released Jupiter and stalked away across the room.
"Go to your class," he growled, and fell into his chair, digging his fingers into his hair. Jupiter felt as if she would cry, he was not usually this harsh with her. Of course, she reminded herself, it's been more of a hell for him these past two months that it's been for me. I should be more understanding.
She stood for a pensive moment, and watched as Snape rifled mercilessly through papers on his desk. She knew he wasn't reading them, but he knew that Jupiter would leave if he looked busy. She decided to oblige him, and headed to her next class.
***
The rest of her day flew by uneventfully, with Jupiter paying most of her attention to the class (if only to avoid the pain that struck through her when she thought of Severus), except for the classes she had with the new boy. He didn't talk to anyone, indeed, everyone seemed afraid of him. Jupiter didn't blame them. He seemed to have taken a liking to her specifically, because he always sat near her. In fact, he managed to sit directly next to her in her last period, which was Advanced Divination.
After a few days of being constantly panted at and stalked, Jupiter was getting highly paranoid, and more than a little annoyed.
She went outside after last period, breathing heavily. Why was he following her? Why couldn't he stop staring at her? It wasn't as if she was stunningly beautiful or anything. It was so hard to concentrate on anything with that great green eye ogling her every move. She walked past the lake, kicking pebbles angrily in front of her.
Why hadn't she just ignored him? Why did she have to be cocky and approach him in the first place? "Damn me," she thought viciously, "Damn me and my stupid ideas."
Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder. She spun around, with a good idea of who it was. She was right. Chaos stood behind her, with his evil- looking, crooked smile stretched across his face.
"Lady," he began, "You smell of mint."
"I'm sure we've been through this before!" Jupiter cried, her short temper flaring. She had flown long enough, now it was time to fight. "Quit following me! Stop drooling on me! And for pity's sake, stop calling me Lady! My name is Jupiter!" With her outburst, she smacked him across his face. Then she stepped back, realising what she'd done. She prepared to run. But Chaos did not advance on her.
"Thank you, Lady," he whispered, and strode off in an odd sort of fashion. Juipiter stood frozen for a moment, then took off running as fast as she could, and didn't stop until she'd skidded into the Slytherin common room and jumped onto the leather couch, curling up underneath Draco's arm (curiously Pansy-free).
"Draco, you remember that Chaos guy?" she murmured into his chest.
"The only one in Hogwarts crazier than you, you mean?"
"Ha. Ha. Ha. Yes, him. He's fucking terrifying. He follows me around, and keeps telling me I smell of mint."
Draco looked calmly at Ju, and said, sagely, "Well, you do, you know. Rather strongly, I-"
"Draco! This is not about the way I smell! Would everyone leave the way I smell alone? This is about a weird boy who keeps sitting next to me and calling me 'Lady'!"
"God forbid!" Draco said, with mock offense, "Not that!"
"Shut up, Draco. I mean it."
"Well, what do you want me to do about it? Beat him up for you?"
"You'd do that for me?" she asked.
"No, not really,"
"I didn't think so. Besides," Jupiter added, "You couldn't beat him up. He's twice your size."
Draco was about to say something indignant when the door swung open and Chaos walked in. He had leaves in his hair and grass stains on his robes. He offered everyone in the common room a crooked Grin and headed into the dorms.
Jupiter looked at Draco, who smiled evilly.
"He has such a charming smile, don't you think?"
Jupiter hit him with a cushion.
***
It was the next day, and, happily, a Saturday. Jupiter was out on the grounds, enjoying the last of the summer the best way she knew how - reading. But, sadly, she was not to finish Robin Hood that day, as she was interrupted by the most unlikely of people.
"Hello, Jupiter!" called a boy from a little way away. She looked up from her book, over to where the call had come from. There were two boys there. One was tall, lanky, and red-haired. He was standing next to a shorter, black-haired boy. They made their way over to her.
The red-haired one leaned against a nearby tree, looking vaguely annoyed, but the other one approached Jupiter's reclining form.
"How are you?" the short one asked her.
"I'm fine..." she said slowly, "How do you know who I am? You're neither seventh years nor Slytherins."
"My name is Harry Potter, and this is my friend, Ron Weasley, and-"
"I know who you are. I didn't ask that. I asked how you knew who I am."
"Um...Everyone knows who you are," said Harry. He obviously wasn't used to this sort of reaction from anyone.
"Sure they do. So what do you want, my brave little Gryffindors?"
"We just wanted to say hi!" Harry said, and smiled at her. Jupiter's jovial air cooled a little and she looked at Harry, trying to see any sign of mischief, any hint of smugness.
"Well. Hi then," Jupiter said, a cold edge in her voice. She closed her book and stood up. "But if you'll excuse me, I have some Hufflepuffs to hang. I'll see you around," and, with that, she began to walk off.
"Wait! I mean, don't go!" Harry cried out. Jupiter turned again and looked at him.
"Argh. Tell me what it is you want so I can continue being mean to the first-years. So many wedgies to give."
"Where's Draco?" Harry turned a little red and added meekly, "I mean Malfoy." Jupiter looked at him oddly.
"As a matter of fact, I don't know. But if you'd like to leave your name, number, and a short message, he'll get back to you," Jupiter said, and smiled sarcastically. Ron looked about ready to slug her, but Harry forced a laugh.
"Well, do you want to hang out?" Harry asked. Ron looked at him incredulously, but Harry ignored it. Jupiter's face echoed Ron's.
"What? 'Hang out'? Potter, are you nuts? Bludger hit you in the head a couple too many times? I'm a Slytherin, remember? I worship the Dark Lord and eat babies?"
It took all of Harry's willpower to maintain his smile. They can't all be like this, Draco's a decent enough guy... "Well, if you see him, will you tell him we want to talk to him?"
"What is it, 'Take a Slytherin Under Your Noble Wing' day? Since when do Gryffindors go looking for Slytherins? Are you going to 'hang out' with him, too?" Jupiter asked, quirking an eyebrow and frowning slightly.
"Geez, I just wanted to know! I'd forgotten how annoying you Slytherins are!" Harry snapped, and walked off. Ron followed him, shouting I-told-you- so's the whole way.
"You dumb Gryffindorks can't even take jokes." Jupiter snapped, and Harry stopped in his tracks.
Slowly, to Jupiter's amazement, he walked back. He seemed resigned, and sighed. "Will you tell Draco we want him?"
"Well," began Jupiter, the side of her mouth twitching up, "I really don't think he's into threesomes, but sure, I'll tell him."
"Harry! Harry!" three boys were rushing up to the group of people, smiling and waving something in the air. "Look at this!" It was a newspaper clipping.
"What is it?" asked Harry. Jupiter couldn't help but be intrigued. She walked a bit closer to the small, energetic group of Gryffies.
"So," she thought to herself, "This is what Gryffindors do."
"I'll read it to you," said one boy, who Jupiter vaguely recognized as Colin Creevey. "It says:
Recently in Mortein City, home to the Elemental Castles, there was a reported break-in at The Museum of Knicked Knick-Knacks, the popular museum of previously stolen artifacts. Sources say, though, that nothing was stolen. In other news, the Castle of Shadow, long-time tourist attraction and filming place of 'The Muggle', has been shut down for undisclosed reasons.
-Do you suppose that might mean something?" Colin finished, hope gleaming in his eyes. Jupiter laughed hard.
"Don't you suppose it's a bit early in the year to be seeing Dark Lords everywhere?"
Colin blushed a bright red, and Harry glared at Jupiter. Jupiter smiled sweetly, and then turned her attention to the other boy. He was chubby- cheeked and had ear-length sandy brown hair.
"I almost remember you...What's your name again? Nero Longstocking?" she asked, looking under a floppy bit of hair, as if that would help.
"Neville Longbottom," he corrected reproachfully. Jupiter smiled.
"I know. I'm only teasing. It's what we Slytherins do."
"I was under the impression that one thing Slytherins did not do, is hang out with Gryffindors." Jupiter looked at the source of the voice. It was Hermione Granger, know-it-all extraordinaire.
"Ah, yes," Jupiter smiled, straightening up, "More Gryffindors. I'll be the envy of all my friends."
Hermione gave Jupiter a scrutinizing look, and Jupiter merely looked amused. "Hi, Nondescript Gryffindor #56. May I help you?"
Hermione ignored her, and then turned to her friends, who began discussing the article. Jupiter couldn't have cared less, so she began surveying the rest of the group.
She noticed one boy - wasn't his name Sean O'Malley? Something Irish. Finnigan, that's right. Seamus Finnigan. He had sandy blonde hair and blue eyes. He was also grinning at her. Jupiter looked down to make sure all her body parts were sufficiently covered, and then noticed that she was now carrying neither her wand nor her book. She must have left them back by the tree. She turned to go retrieve them, when Seamus whistled.
She turned back to see Seamus holding her wand in one hand, and her book in the other. In a second, he was sprinting off across the courtyard. Jupiter took off after him.
"If this is your idea of flirting, Finnigan, I'll tell you now that I only like older men!" she cried, but Seamus appeared not to hear her. "You lousy Gryffindor, give me...back...my wand..."
Jupiter slowed to a stop and fell to the ground. She was clutching her chest and throat with her hands, and was desperately trying to breathe. Within moments, all the Gryffindors had crowded around her, blocking out the red twilight that was shining in her eyes.
"Are you all right?" Harry asked, leaning over her.
"I have (gasp) asthma, and it's (wheeze) horrid," Jupiter lapsed into a coughing fit, "And if I ever get my (deep breath) hands on him, (yawn) Finnigan's dead," she said, between wheezing breaths.
Hermione looked snooty. "Well, you did start it."
"Start it?!" Jupiter cried hoarsely, "I did (gasp) not!"
Harry snatched Jupiter's wand from Seamus's hand and handed it to Jupiter, who ignored its presence on her lap. If she'd looked up, she would have seen Seamus looking acutely embarrassed, and she probably would have been surprised. That, however, was lost on her.
"What's going on?" came a boy's voice from outside the circle.
"Hello," Jupiter wheezed again, "Draco."
"Jupiter, what the hell are you doing surrounded by Gryffindors?"
"They're my (wheeze) Gryffindor Sixth Years collection (gasp). I've nearly got the (cough) whole set!" she said.
Draco pointed his wand at her chest and said "Respiro."
Soon, Jupiter's breathing returned to normal. She stood up and looked at Finnigan. "You," she said, "Are an idiot!" And she stormed off. Seamus looked angry, but the rest of the group shushed him, and they walked off.
And so it was that Jupiter left the courtyard, and went to the Slytherin girls' dorm. She went to the end of the dormitory and opened the door to her room, profoundly glad that prefects get their own quarters. She shut the door and walked over to her bed. With no more ado, she lay down, and fell asleep.