AN: Okay, I realize this is almost two weeks late, but I humbly beg your forgiveness. Not having really done any homework my past two years in school, I had forgotten how much time school really takes. Oh well. I'll try to be more regular from now on. Truely I will. And as an addemdum, today, Tuesday September 26 my mother goes in for a very dangerous surgery. If anyone who reads this wishes her luck, I'll be eternally gratefull. Thank you.
P.S. Anyone who's looking for the Snape/swingdance scean, I'm sorry, but I had to break this chapter up into two smaller ones, it was getting rather long.
Disclaimer:Harry and his Friends are not mine. I've just taken them down of the shelf to play with for a while, but I promise to put them back, good as new when I'm done! Jimi Richardson is mine and I quite enjoy her. The Succubus Club, part 2
Life soon settled into the routine that passed for as close to normal as life got at Hogwarts. Jimi's addition to the Gryffindor Gang kept the school more or less on its toes as she did one unexpected thing after another, spending early Sunday mornings rollerblading through the dungons, teaching pure-blooded girls the muggle "arts" of hand games and jump rope with the accompaning rhymes, trading dirty jokes with Hagrid, and most shockingly, insisting on being not only civil, but nice to Draco Malfory.
Most her teachers liked her as well. Even professer Snape seemed oddly fond of her, or as fond as he could be of any non-Slythrin anyway. In fact, only two teachers weren't taken with the girl. It wasn't that Professer Binns disliked Jimi, but he severly disapproved of her classroom behavior. Her idea of Magical History was not to sit passively and obediantly copy notes, but to constantly question every word, every fact. The small ghostly teacher almost wanted to cross over every time the girl shot her hand into the air.
Then there was Johan Tenniel, the DADA teacher. A younger man, handsome with his silver-templed rich brown hair, eerie green eyes and an odd dislike for Jimi. The second day of classes he had taken ten points from Gryffindor, stating Jimi was insubordinate in insisting her full name was simply Jimi. With a smug smile, he informed her he would use no nicknames.
However he called Ron just that all class though, never once Ronald.
Jimi and Professer Tenniel did not like each other.
Infact, it was following one such class the day before Halloween that Jimi burst into the common room and hurled herself onto the couch, beginning to sob. A hand lightly touched her shoulder.
" What's all this?" Jimi looked up into Fred's warm brown eyes, his brows furrowed in concern.
" F-fred." She sniffled in surprise, hastily wipping her eyes on her robes. " I thought there were Q-q-quidditch practices on F-fridays." Feeling around in his pockets, Fred drew out a handkercheif and wipped at Jimi's face.
" It's Thursday today Jimi, remeber? Now come on, what's the matter?" Jimi took a deep breath.
" It's nothing really. It's just that damn prat Tenniel. I don't understand why he hates me so much! He tried to fail my test today! I missed two questions, but he kept taking off points for the way I interprated my ansewers for the rest of the questions! He gave me a fifty!"
" What did you do?"
" Checked my anseweres against, Ron, Harry, and Hermione's papers, approached him after class, and told him to change the grade on my damn paper before I went to Dumbledore about it."
" Did he?"
" Oh yeah, but he wasn't happy about it." For a moment she was silent. " Fred, what does Mudblood mean?"
Hermione looked at Jimi's paper as seh walked with Harry, Ron, Lee, and George towards the common room.
" Why'd she go flying off like that?" Lee asked, his thickly accented voice filled with bewilderment. " I thought we were going to go feed the squid?"
" Professer Tenniel was really after her today." Ron explained. " He tried to give her a fifty on a ninety-two paper. Even Snape's never tried anything like that!" They reached the picture of the Fat Lady. " Toreador." He said off-handedly. Climbing into the common room, they all froze for a second, staring at the scean before them. Jimi had Fred by the arm, pulling on him as hard as she could to try to sit him down as he tried to pull away, his face as red as his hair, his eyes narrowed dangerously.
" Fred, NO! Come on, drop it! I told you he has to be Super-Bigot!" Jimi pleaded, continuing to tug vainly at Fred's arm.
" Fred! Jimi!, what's going on?" Harry exclaimed.
" Our newest teacher is prediguised git!" Fred yelled. " Do you know what he said to Jimi?!"
" Fred, Don't!!" Jimi whinned. The youth ignored her.
" He told her to her face that he was actually glad she was in his class, because now he truely understood what Mudblood meant!" The room exploaded in self rightous anger.
" Guys, let's not do anything that we're gonna regret." Jimi tried to ask. Her friends ignored her, loudly inscenced on her behalf.
" He can't talk to you like that!" Hermione yelled " You should tell Dumbledore! Tenniel can be fired for that!"
" He was pissed off because I threatened him already. Look, let's just leave the damn issue alone for a moment and see if it cools down. Tomorrow's the beginning of a long weekend. Halloween and then I won't see him again untill tuesday. So I want all of you to promise me that no one will do anything!" Accepting their reluctant promises, Jimi swiftly changed the subject. " So, tell me again, where are we going tomorrow? What exactly is Hogsmeade?"
Jimi sank down in the crook of a large branch in the tree by the farside of the lake and closed her eyes. Slowly, two tears crept down her soft light brown cheeks. Professer Tenniel's absurd hatred of her brought back memories of her childhood and her own mother's fear of her. Letting the colors of the sunset blaze behind her shut eyelids, she was only brought around from her thoughts by the haunting sound of a viola. Confused, she looked down.
A pale head of silvery hair was bent over the instrument, his long, slender fingers dancing across the strings, coaxing out the music. A ghost of a smile crossed Jimi's face.
" Ubi care tas." She said softly. The music stopped suddenly.
" Who's there?"
" Jimi." She looked down to meet Draco Malfory's eye's. " I'm sorry if I startled you, but you play so beautifully and I adore that peice." She said quietly. So quietly, Draco almost didn't hear her.
" Where did you learn latin?" He aske slowly. She shrugged noncommitally.
" The peice is based on a latin mass. My family, excepting me, has been devout Catholics for generations."
" Oh." In the absence of anything else to say, Draco began to play again.
" I know I don't really know you, but can I ask you something?" Jimi asked almost shyly. Draco made a noise she took to be a yes. " What the hell does 'Mudblood' mean?" Draco looked up at her in surprise and his bow screeched across the strings. Jimi felt her face burn and her eyes grow wet. " That bad?" She asked softly.
" It means you have mixed blood or pure muggle blood. That your blood lines are...dirtied by intermixing." The more Draco spoke and watched the tears leak unbidden down the girl's cheeks, the stupider the words sounded in his ears.
" Oh." Jimi whispered, looking away quickly towards the setting sun.
" But your mother was Isobella de`Lopez, right?" Draco questioned. Jimi nodded vaugely. " Well, was your father a muggle?"
" No, most deffinately not." Jimi laughed, her tone ruefull.
" Then tell whoever called you that to blow it out their arse." Jimi just sighed.
" Do you know the accompnyments to any of Chopin's peices?" In response, the blond lifted the instrument to his chin and began to play.
The knocks on the door of the fifth year girl's dorm grew more insistant. Sleepily, Jimi lifted her face from the pillow.
" Come in!" She yelled in annoyance, dropping her head back to the pillow in her half asleep state, pushing away the leg that was brushing against hers. Wait, leg? Jimi sat up in confusion as the door hesitantly opened. She blinked blurrily at Harry and Ron as they stared with red faces and open mouthed at her and Hermione sprawled across hermione's bed.
" Jimi! Y-you..." The girl snorted at the two stuttering males and reached up to where her friend was sprawled at the head of the bed.
" Hermi, wake up! We fell back asleep !" Slowly Hermione sat up and rubbed her eyes.
" What time is it?" She yawned.
" A quarter to nine." Ron ansewered, his eyes wide as Jimi squealed and scrambled out of the bed, clad in a light yellow cami and a half slip edged in deep purple. Hermione yelped and pulled a blanket over her similar, mauve outfit.
" Get out!" She exclaimed, pointing at the door. " You can't be in here!"
" McGonagall said we could come get you two..." Harry began.
" Boys!" Jimi scolded. " We can't get dressed until you leave!" Nodding, the two backed out the door and Jimi kicked it closed. " Come on! Oh, I don't want to miss my first Hogsmead visit! Jimi tossed open the wardrobe and began digging through it frantically. " What should I wear Hermi?" The other girl shrugged, slipping into a thick maroon sweater. " You're no help!" Jimi griped, pulling out a light yellow sundress and slipping it on.
" Jimi, That's way to short!" Hermione exclaimed as she slid into a light brown pleated skirt. Jimi looked down at the skirts hem where it brushed just slightly below less than half way down her thighs.
" No, it's fine." She assured her friend, throwing on a pair of white sandles. Deftly she finger-parted a large lock of hair and french braided it across the top of her head, fastening it at the nape of her neck, brushing the rest out quickly and slipping a pair of large golden hoop earings into her ears. Throwing a large compact and her wallet, Jimi grabbed her purse.
" Are you ready?" Hermione asked, grabbing her own small coin purse.
" Yeah, let's go!" Jimi ansewered enthuastically, running out the door behind Hermione.
They ran through the castle and arrived as the carriages were about to leave.
" Wait!" Professer McGonagall leaned out the window of the first carriage and frowned.
" Why so late ladies?" Jimi flashed one of her patented 'We're sorry but we're also so damn cute and sweet when we do this so don't be mad!' smiles.
" We really had gotten up earlier Professer, but then Hermi and I started talking and kinda fell back asleep and really sorry for any trouble we might've caused?" The woman sighed.
" No, Slythrin is still loading their last carriage as well. You could always have ridden with them. Now go on, I belive your friends are in the last carriage." Smiling, teh two girls dashed over to where George had flung open his door.
" About time!" He cried jovially. " Get in here already!" The steps had been taken away, and so Jimi gave Hermione a leg up and then belatedly looked at her tight, short skirt adn the very high step into the carriage.
" Well, shit!"
Draco looked over to see Jimi Richardson struggling to get into her carriage.
" What are you looking at Drakey?" Pansy cooed, drapping herself over his shoulder. A half smile crept across his face as hers twisted into a jelous loathing. " Oh. Her." The girl snorted. " I don't see know why everyone is so impressed with her, but if you're going to be an idiot like everyone else, why don't you just go and help her?" Pansy sneered. Draco considered for a second before pushing Pansy's hand off his shoulder.
" I think I'll do just that. Hold the carriage for me Pansy."He said in a bored, offhanded way as he strolled towards the Gryffindor carriage. " Hold the carriage for me, would you Pansy?" Pansy's eyes narrowed at his receding back.
" Not a fucking chance." She muttered, slipping into the carriage and closing the door.
" Just lift your foot and we can pull you in. Come on, we've got to go!" Ginny said in exasperation.
" I can't Gin! My skirt's too short. I'd have to hike it all the way up to lift my leg that high."
" I..." Hermione began. Jimi glared at her.
" Dont'. Even. Think. About it. She muttered dangerously.
" Need a hand?" Turning, she cme face to face with Draco, standing behind her; paler than ever, but still handsome, in a dark green shirt and black pants.
" Most deffinately." She agreed.
" You, one of the twins, Grab her wrists, and I'll lift her in." He ordered.
" My name is George!" The closest one snapped, taking Jimi's hands as Draco wrapped his hands around her waist.
" Fine, George. Ready?" The twin nodded. " One, two, Three!" Jimi squealed as She was pulled across George's lap and partally Fred's as well by the strength of the pull. " There we go. Good...bye." Everyone had turned to see why Draco had stopped and just stood there beside the Gryffindor coach. Ron began to laugh uproarously.
The last Slythrin coach had left without him.
Draco's daze was broken by a small hand extending by his face. He turned to see Jimi leaning out the coach.
" A lady always repays her debts. Hop in."
The ride was cheerful, boisterous and profanity filled, but all in the warmest way. Draco sat back adn observed the Gryffindor's around him in amazement. A Slythrin coach ride was always very clique-ish, filled with vicious gossip and double edged taunts and comments, nothing like this.
" Lee Jordan, that box you're watching so very carefully up there better not have your damn spider in it!" Jimi threatened from her perch across the Weasley twin's laps. When he didn't respond, Jimi let out a yelp and hopped across the carriage, sitting on Draco's lap instead as she eyed the box, prompting the entire carriage to laugh.
For a second, Draco almost wished he could be one of them.
His thoughts were interupted as the carriage hit a large bump, and said box slid to the edge of the shelf to balance precariously for several seconds before falling to the floor, opening. For several moments there was utter chaos in the carriage as Jimi clung to Draco in blind panic, Ron Weasley looked ready to faint and his sister screamed, drawing her feet up onto the seat until someone laughed.
" Lee, you're an ASS!" Harry laughed. Draco craned his neck and looked over Jimi's shoulder. The only thing in the box was a half empty bottle of something indistinguishable. " You could have just said you were going after, Percy and the heads instead of scaring Jimi and Ron half to death!"
" I-I wasn't scared." Ron muttered, red faced as he sent a glare towards Draco.
" Well, I was!" Jimi squeaked indignantly, her shoulders heaving as she tried to calm herself. " You just wait until we get where I can kick your ass!"
" Sorry man." He appoligized, picking up his props. As Jimi shifted, Draco saw the label and burst into laughter.
" Ex-lax?! You've going to give them..." he trailed off as they all turned to stare at him. " What!?" He snapped, releived when they began to ignore him again. Except for the girls.
" Nothing." Ginny answered. " It's just that.." A blush crept across her face as he turned and looked directly at her.
" What she means is, you have a beautiful laugh." Jimi told him, a trace of awe in her voice. Before Draco could respond, the carriage stopped and she slid off his lap.
Jimi watched Draco walk off in the oppisite diection of her friends.
" Such a sad person." She mused softly as Ginny took her hand, pulling her through the town gates and to the left.
" Come on Jimi! The guys want to go to the Three Broomsticks for breakfast!" Sending one last look Draco's way, Jimi allowed herself to be pulled into the middle of the group and lead down the main street of Hogsmead.
The Three Broomsticks was a short five minuite walk into town. Inside, the group took the largest corner booth with the exception of Lee, who headed off to cause mischeif. Sitting, they all ordered a tall glass of Butterbeer and settled down to talk.
" Jimi, what are you doing?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes as Jimi began to spread her compacts and the rest of her makeup on the table befor her.
" Surely you've seen someone pt on makeup before." He shook his head.
" Not the muggle way." Jimi shrugged and opened her foundation.
" It's fun. I used to love to watch madre. Here, Hermi, hold my mirror please?" Jimi began to slick on her foundation, giggling as she looked up to see all of them watching with rapt intrest. " Come on now, is it really that intresting?" Ginny nodded. " Surely between the six of you one of you must have seen soeone do this." Jimi said skeptably as seh slicked on a redish orange lipstick and the lightest dustings of a peach blush.
" Our mum always uses magic." Ginny ansewered.
" My mom doesn't wear makeup." Hermione said with a shrug as their friend brushed on a navy blue eyeshadow and a darker navy eyeliner that made her eyes look even more vividly amber.
" Wow. I never realized you could live a life and never see makeup applied." Jimi giggled. " Can I do you and Ginny Herm? Please?" She asked in excitement. The red-head immediantly agreed, scooting to the edge of teh booth, closer to where Jimi sat at the end of the table in a chair. Looking over the girl's fair complexion and her shimmery white-rose sweater, Jimi took out her wand and tapped her foundation, lightening it. Smoothing out the girl's skin, Jimi looked over the her compact critically.
" Not too dark!" All three brothers exclaimed at once. Both girls rolled their eyes and Jimi slicked the lightest pink in her purse on Ginny's lips, and a medium blue on her eyes.
" Voila!" Jimi rounded on Hermione. " Please????"
" Maybe after we eat." She reluctantly concended as the butterbeer was set before them. Jimi took a deep drink and let a pleasent shudder run through her as the drink built a small pit of warmth inside her, not unlike vodka, but much nicer. Looking up as the door opened, Jimi saw Draco Malfory enter alone and sit at the bar. Hermione's brows knit in confusion.
" Malfory? Why is he still alone?"
" Who cares?" Ron snorted. " Maybe his "friends" realize he's a bloody git too." Jimi continued to watch as he sat at the bar, his face schooled into a composed mask as he sipped at the tankard set before him.
" I don't know Ron." Hermione continued. " Have you noticed he doesn't hang around Crabbe and Goyle all the time anymore?" He's buy himself a lot more and I don't know... I just think he's changed somehow."
" He's changed alright." Ron scoffed. " He used to be able to sit on the curb and swing his feet. The only diffrence I see is that he grew over the summer, making him a big git instead of a little one."
" I'm going over there." Jimi said suddenly, leaving her seat to approach the bar.
" Why aren't you with your housemates?" Draco looked up at Jimi.
" Does it matter?"
" if it upsets you it does." Draco sighed.
" It doesn't upset me, but I am alone because I choose not to spend my time with the other Slythrins today." Jimi nodded and sat beside him.
" Would you like to spend the day with us? I'd like it if you did." Draco snorted, motioning towards Ron.
" And would your friends like it?" Jimi sighed and rolled her eyes as she noticed Ron glaring at them.
" Ronnie-boy can shove it." She decided. draco looked at her, opver to the Gryffindor table and back to Jimi, smiling at her.
" Sure."
" He's comming over here!" Ron hissed. " Can you belive him!" Hermione kicked him in the shins.
" Shut up Ron." She hissed back as the two approached.
" Hey guys, you don't mind if Draco sits with us, do you?" Jimi asked, her glare making it apparent the boys had best say nothing.
" No." Ron muttered sulkily. Grinning, Jimi pulled another chair up and sat down beside Draco, looking at the menus Madame Roberta had left.
" So, what are we having for Breakfast?"
Draco walked out of Honeydukes with a large bag and a smile on his face. He had just spent almost six galleons in the candy store and had enough candy to cover the bet he had just lost with Fred Weasley as well as satisy his own sweet tooth for a while.
" Okay, I got your candy." He sighed, opening the bag. A smile crossed his face as Fred turned a bit green. It seemed his stomach wasn't quite settled from the blood lollipops either.
" Where'd ya get the candy from?" Jimi asked from behind him.
" The store." Draco said, thumbing towards it. She shrugged, licking at a large lollipop.
" Can I have a peice?" Reaching in the bag, Draco pulled out a pepermint humbug and handing to her. Happily she ate it. " Harry says it's almost time to go, but first, I wanna get our picture taken, all of us." The blond hesitated, even as Fred agreed. " Please? Draco?" With a sigh, the youth followed her to where the Gryffindors and a photographer waited.
" Okay!" The photographer said in an animated voice. " You twins in the back, good. You three young men infront of them and you ladies in front of them." Jimi shivvered as a cool october breeze blew past them. Reaching around, Draco wrapped his arms around Jimi's shoulders. "Beautiful!" The photographer exclaimed. Stay just like that and smile! Say Hogsmead!"
" HOGSMEAD!"
Draco didn't say a word. He simply buried his face slightly in Jimi's hair, breathing deeply.
He did smile though.
" That will be twelve knuts" Moving away from Draco, Jimi fished twelve of the little bronze coins from her purse, taking the picture as she paid him.
" Oh my gosh! Look guys, we're moving!" Jimi hurried over to show show everyone else the picture. Draco looked up from behind Jimi, a half smile on his face and he gave her a small squeeze as her hands rested over his. To their left Hermione and Harry held hands off the edge of the picture and behind Hermione's back and behind her, Harry gave a little wink up at the camera and all four Weasleys took a similar pose.
" Oh! You four look so cute!" Ginny squealed. Before Draco could decide to be indignant or not, it was Hermione's turn to squeal.
" Oh-no! We're going to be late again! You're a bad influence Jimi! Come on guys!" Turning, the others began to scoop up their bags, running for the town gates. Draco reached for his bags when Jimi tapped him on the shoulder. Straightening up, he was surprised when she tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his softly, kissing him. Dropping his bags, he wound his arms around her, kissing her back for several long seconds.
" Now," Jimi said as they seperated. " We're really going to have to run." Pulling away, she grabbed her two bags and dashed down the street.
They barely made it back to the carriages with Draco lifting Jimi in quickly, handing her all the bags with a whisper and running to catch up to his own coach, hopping in it before it picked up a too much speed.
What'd he say?" Jimi opened the bag and chuckled slightly, showing them the bag of candy.
" Help ourselves."