The Story of Jessica Black



Chapter Ten: So Close . . .



Jessica, Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat staring at Dumbledore. Hermione was the first to speak. "How do you know someone is here, Professor," she asked, "But don't know who it is?"

Dumbledore didn't smile. "That," he said, "I cannot reveal." The students looked at each other, then Harry spoke.

"What do you want us to do?" he asked, his voice still a little hoarse.

"Keep a watchful eye out for any unusual behavior among your peers. There are no new students this year, other than the first years, so either they are posing as a first year, or they have abducted and taken the place of an older student. Please, be careful."

Dumbledore's last statement had the air of finality that dismissed the students. Sirius transformed and followed Jessica down the stairs. Harry came after. Before they left they heard Dumbledore say to the teachers, "Please note that all of this year's Hogsmeade visits are to be canceled."

"Can you believe your luck?" Ron said, "You get in that huge brawl with Malfoy and they don't even say anything about it!"

"Yes, but now there's something even more dangerous. We could lose our lives, you know," Hermione said.

Jessica could do nothing but walk, her right hand clutching her uncle's fur. She felt a bit funny about the way Professor Dumbledore was acting. She didn't think it was like him to be as vague as he was just then. She decided not to think about it.

The four (plus Sirius) reached the common room as quickly as they could. It was nearly deserted, as most of the students were enjoying the nice September weather. Jessica, Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Sirius found a secluded corner and sat. No one said anything for a very long time.

"Who do you think the intruder could be?" asked Hermione, "You don't think it's . . ."

"That's exactly who I think it is," said Harry.

"But he's not after you, though, Harry, right?" Ron said, "Because you've already kicked his -"

"Ron!" exclaimed Hermione.

"Four times! Even the most stupid person in the world wouldn't come back for a fifth round," Ron finished. Jessica suddenly looked up from the floor, where she had been concentrating, thinking.

"I think there's much more to this Order than Dumbledore's telling," she said, "I think that Dumbledore knows something about this intruder that he isn't telling. I think there may be more than eleven members of the Order this time around."

The others looked confused. "What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Think about it. Excluding Ron, the parents that were involved in the Order before us were killed, right? So they can't have satisfied spirits, can they? They all have children that are being brought up without them. Now, don't call it 'wishful thinking,' because it's not. What if Lily, James, Frank, and Heather are ghosts?"

"That can't be," said Harry.

"Why not?" countered Jessica.

"Because Frank Longbottom's not dead."

Ron, Hermione, and Jessica stared at him in disbelief.

"He isn't?"

"What?"

"He's not?"

Harry shook his head. "I found out last year from Dumbledore. Neville's dad was an Auror. He and his wife are insane, and they live in St. Mungo's."

The others stared at him for a moment with blank expressions on their faces. Just at that moment, Professor McGonagall came sweeping into the common room.

"Harry Potter!" she cried, dashing over to their corner, "Professor Snape has just informed me that you and a certain Draco Malfoy got into a fist fight. Explain yourself immediately!"

Harry stood quietly. "Professor," he said slowly, "Draco said a very rude and nasty comment about Jessica."

"And that gives you a right to pound another student's head against the ground?!" she shrieked, furious. Jessica tried to melt into her chair. She had never seen Professor McGonagall like this. Neither, actually, had any of the others. Harry hung his head.

"No, ma'am," he said quietly. Inside, however, he was screaming. He wanted to just yell, "Yeah, it does, because I'm not going to listen to him talk about my Jessica like that. MY Jessica!" But those words stayed inside his head. Professor McGonagall looked as if she had never had to deal with something like this before.

"Sixty-five points will be taken from Gryffindor!" she yelled, "And you, Potter, are hereby removed from the Quidditch team until further notice!" With that she turned on her heel and left the room.

Harry stood in shock. Jessica came up behind him and said, "It's going to be all right, Harry, I promise. You'll be back on the Quidditch team in no time, and earn those points right back again." During one of her lessons with Dumbledore, he had explained the House and Quidditch Cups.

"Yeah, mate," Ron said, "At least she didn't give you detention."

Harry stayed still and quiet. Jessica put her arms around his shoulders and rested her cheek on his left shoulder blade. Harry's heart began to race, despite the hollow feeling in the pit of his stomach. The next thing Jessica said made Harry feel faint.

"And what you did was very sweet, Harry. It was very chivalrous. You are a true Gryffindor, and I adore you for that."

Jessica sighed. She wished she knew what he had meant by it. Was he just being chivalrous, or was there jealousy there? She figured she would never know.

Harry pulled gently away from Jessica. Somehow, he didn't want her comfort. He wanted to be left alone. He didn't want her to feel sorry for him. It was like a flashback to first year. He silently climbed the stairs up to his dormitory.

The others sat just as silently in their corner of the common room. Jessica hung her head, then turned to her friends.

"I don't want any trouble on account of me," she began slowly, "So, if you think that I shouldn't hang around with you anymore . . ."

"What good is that going to do?" Ron asked, "Harry won't be any different even if you aren't around all of the time. It's better if you're here."

Jessica was confused. She didn't know what he meant. Sirius came over to her and nuzzled her hand. She pet his head absently.

The rest of the evening went by slowly, until everyone had enough of sitting in silence and went off to bed.

Ron quietly went over to Harry's bed. The drapes were drawn.

"Harry?" he asked tentatively, knowing what the answer would be.

Harry was silent. Ron gave up without a fight. He wished there was something he could do for his friend, but he changed into his pajamas and climbed into his own bed and fell asleep quickly.

Harry was still awake, his silent sobs heard by no one, his tears quietly staining his pillowcase.



Jessica sat in the window in her dormitory. Crookshanks sat beside her, and Sirius rested his head against her knee. She stared out at the view she had grown so accustomed to. It was hard to believe she'd only been there a month. It already felt like home.

Sighing, she thought about Harry. He was in another dormitory, where she couldn't protect him, where she couldn't watch him sleep. She closed her eyes and thought about how happy the past month had been, and how the first day of term had changed everything. She just wished everything could be the way it was the day they had flown. And now they even had the intruder to worry about.