Glitter In The Air

by TheEmpressOfWhoAskedYou

IN WHICH Jewel Potter would rather think she's having a psychotic break than admit to herself(or anybody else)that she's uncontrollably reading people's minds, and Draco Malfoy is a stuck-up dingbat that likes to play with fire. [humour/hurt&comfort/angst/slow burn]

29. XXVII

XXVII. GILDEROY LOCKHART'S GUIDE TO FAME (AND GREAT HAIR)

The next morning, after being forcefully evicted from bed, I had a quick shower(that felt heavenly after the events of yesterday), put on my uniform(and my sparkly purple flats, which aren't nearly as comfy as my Dorothy flats), and let Tracey Daphne and Pansy(-and Bulstrode)drag me off to breakfast.

The enchanted ceiling was a dull, cloudy grey.

When we walked in, Harry wove me over from where he was sitting at Gryffindor table with Ron and Hermione.

"Save me a seat-" I said quickly, "I'm just gonna go annoy my idiots-and Hermione-"

"But I thought-" I'd already skipped off, leaving Tracey to trail off half-heartedly, "you were going to sit with us...because we weren't able to owl most of the summer...which you still haven't really explained..."

She glanced at Daphne, who smiled wryly.

"Gooood morning, morons!" I sang teasingly.

"Morning, Jules," Harry replied, not even bothering to argue.

Ron, on the other hand, complained, "we're not morons-"

"The last twenty-four hours begs to differ," I quipped.

He rolled his eyes.

"Morning, 'Mines," I added, grinning.

"Good morning, Jewel," Hermione said a bit stiffly without looking up from her copy of Voyages with Vampires, which she'd propped open against a milk jug.

I cringed.

"So, I'm guessing you heard about the flying car?"

"Mmhm."

I didn't need to be a telepath to pick up on the disapproval in her voice.

"Yeaaah..." I rubbed the back of my neck, "did Ronnie and Skywalker mention that I was an innocent bystander and did nothing wrong?"

"'-did nothing wrong?'" Ron repeated incredulously. "You tricked us into promising to take all the blame-"

"You were going to steal the car anyway," I retorted, "and you wouldn't listen to me-frankly, you deserved it-and, come on, you can't tell me you weren't impressed, because I know you were-it was so good-"

"It was a bit impressive," Harry admitted.

I gestured at him.

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, well-you're still evil," Ron shot back.

"Never said I wasn't," I snorted, squinting at him.

"Hi, Jewel," Neville said cheerfully.

I tipped my imaginary captain's hat, "Nev."

"Mail's due any minute-I think Gran's sending a few things I forgot."

"Hey, Jewel!" Seamus called from down the table, waving eagerly.

"Hi, Seamus," I called back dryly.

(Seamus is sweet, really, but his crush on me is very superficial-there are no real feelings there, and we don't even hang out that much; plus, as amusing as watching him try to flirt is, when the conversation goes on too long, he always ends up making it weird-thankfully, Dean's usually there to do damage control-).

"You look really pretty today-" the Irish boy said, but what made it funny was how he was acting like a nervous kid trying to finish an oral presentation after dropping his cue cards(I think his mum might've given him advice on talking to girls), "not that you don't always look pretty, you just look particularly pretty today-but, also, every day-wait, what I meant is, you look pretty all the time, but also today, and you're, uh-"

Seeing his best friend floundering, Dean quickly whispered in his ear.

Seamus perked back up.

"Smart! You are extremely smart. I mean, we've only got the one class together-but you've been really smart in that one class-and what you did with the flying car was seriously ballsy-and, uh, dammit-"

More hasty whispering.

"-oh! And I think you have a cute face. Smile! Your face is cute, but your smile is-also cute."

Dean straight-up facepalmed.

"Thanks, Seamus and Dean," I said in amusement. "Maybe, next time, write it down, yeah?"

"Right," Seamus coughed, blushing in embarrassment.

Harry and Ron, on the other hand, were far from amused-judging by the sharp, brotherly warning looks they were shooting Seamus.

"Sorry, Jewel-we'll come back with better material next time!" Dean joked.

"I look forwards to it," I laughed with my 'cute' tongue-in-teeth grin.

The dark-haired boy smiled, scratching the back of his head.

I'd only just stolen my second piece of toast off Harry's plate, waving good morning to the twins and Lee down the table("Hi, Georgie! Lee! Person whose destruction is imminent!" "Morning, Bones!" "Morning, person who's planning my imminent destruction!" "Hey, Red! And whatever Fred did to deserve being 'destroyed imminently', I just want to clarify that I had no part in it and am completely on your side-Sorry, mate, but have you seen her play Beater?-behind that adorable smile, devil-may-care attitude, and those sparkly purple flats, she's a bloodthirsty maniac-"), when the owls swooped into the hall, circling the four house tables and dropping letters and packages.

An owl dropped a big, lumpy parcel that hit Neville on the head and bounced off-and, seconds later, a grey blur plummeted from the sky and into the milk jug Hermione was leaning her book on, spraying everyone in the vicinity with milk and feathers(I ducked, but only succeeded in getting myself splashed in the face).

"Errol!"

Ron pulled the dishevelled-looking great grey owl out of the milk jug by his feet, and I slyly used the back of Harry's robes to wipe my face and neck while he and the others were distracted. The second the redhead let him go, Errol slumped over unconscious on the table with his legs up in the air.

But, what caught Ron's attention, was the red envelope(which was damp and dripping with milk)clamped in his beak.

"Oh, no-" he gasped.

Hearing him think the word Howler, I eyed the envelope with renewed interest.

Whatever it was, it obviously alarmed him.

"It's alright, he's still alive," Hermione reassured(assuming Ron was worried about Errol)as she gently prodded the owl with her fingertip.

"It's not that-it's that."

Ron pointed at the red envelope.

Neville got the same wide-eyed, pale look as Ron-as if they expected it to self-destruct within the next ten seconds or something(and, judging by what I could pick up from their minds in the crowded hall, I couldn't help but wonder if it would).

"What's the matter?" Harry asked, not seeing the big deal.

"She's-she's sent me a Howler," Ron said faintly.

Still wondering what a 'Howler' was(and why Ron and Neville were expecting it to explode), and why his mum would send him one(I'd assume it has something to do with him stealing the car, endangering his father's job at the Ministry, and flying it illegally across the country to Hogwarts-and being spotted by Muggles and making the paper-with two out of three of his best mates and a snowy owl without leaving so much as a note; but I'm just spit-balling here), I shared a confused look with Harry.

"You'd better open it, Ron," Neville whispered timidly. "It'll be worse if you don't. My gran sent me one once, and I ignored it and-" he gulped, "it was horrible."

"What's a Howler?" Harry questioned, looking lost as he glanced between Ron and Neville's petrified faces and the ominous red envelope in Errol's beak.

Ron didn't remove his eyes from the envelope.

It was beginning to smoke at the corners.

"Open it," Neville urged him. "It'll all be over in a few minutes-"

Filled with dread, the redhead reached out, his hand visibly shaking, and carefully eased the Howler out of the owl's beak.

He opened it, and Neville preemptively stuck his fingers in his ears.

I decided to follow his lead, despite not understanding what was going on.

A split-second later, Mrs Weasley's enraged voice was echoing throughout the Great Hall like thunder, shaking dust from the ceiling and making the plates and spoons on Gryffindor table rattle(apparently, Howler's amplify their sender's voices-which explains the name).

"-STEALING THE CAR, I WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN SURPRISED IF THEY'D EXPELLED YOU, YOU WAIT 'TILL I GET HOLD OF YOU, I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU STOPPED TO THINK WHAT YOUR FATHER AND I WENT THROUGH WHEN WE SAW IT WAS GONE-"

People swivelled around, trying to get a look at whoever received the explosive letter.

"-LETTER FROM DUMBLEDORE LAST NIGHT, I THOUGHT YOUR FATHER WOULD DIE OF SHAME, WE DIDN'T BRING YOU UP TO BEHAVE LIKE THIS, YOU, HARRY AND JEWEL COULD HAVE DIED-"

Ron had sunken down so low that the only thing in sight was his distinctive Weasley hair and his bright red forehead.

The Howler had fallen from his hand and was now lying on the table, shrieking.

"-THANK GOD JEWEL HAD THE COMMON DECENCY TO SEND US THAT LETTER EXPLAINING EVERYTHING-OTHERWISE, WE WOULD'VE KEPT PANICKING ABOUT WHERE THE CAR HAD GONE-"

I winced sheepishly, and Harry turned to me in disbelief.

Coughing, I looked around innocently with my fingers in my ears.

"-ABSOLUTELY DISGUSTED-YOUR FATHER'S FACING AN INQUIRY AT WORK, IT'S ENTIRELY YOUR FAULT AND IF YOU PUT ANOTHER TOE OUT OF LINE WE'LL BRING YOU STRAIGHT BACK HOME."

The Howler burst into flames, the edges of the envelope curling into ashes, and Harry and Ron stared at it with stunned looks on their faces.

There was a ringing silence.

Finally, a few people laughed, and voices once again filled the hall.

Hermione closed her book.

"Well, I don't know what you expected, Ron," she said, looking down at the top of his head, "but you-"

"Don't tell me I deserved it," he snapped.

Looking super guilty, Harry pushed away his porridge.

-'hearing' him thinking about all Mr and Mrs Weasley had done for him over the summer, and how Mr Weasley was facing an inquiry at work because of us, just made me feel even worse than I already did; which I didn't think was possible.

A yellow rubber band repeatedly snapped.

"Uh, so, I'm just gonna-" I gestured over my shoulder.

Professor Snape was passing out the Slytherin class schedules, and McGonagall was making her way along Gryffindor table.

"You owled my parents?" Ron hissed from beneath the table.

"In my defence-" I held up my hands in surrender, "that was the second letter I sent before we, er, commandeered the car-I figured they'd freak out when they saw it was gone, and I doubted you and Harry would be for it, and I was annoyed at the two of you so I was on my whole 'cover my own ass and pin everything on you' kick-so, I gave them the heads up and lied about who the letter was for-and, while I'm being honest and all, I should probably tell you that I owled Professor Snape, not Dumbledore-"

"You owled Snape?!"

"Oh, would you look at the time-" I squinted at my bare wrist, laughing awkwardly, "I'm late for that thing-see you guys later-love you, Harry-"

"This isn't over!" Ron yelled after me.

"What was that? Sorry, Ronnie-I'm, like, super far away now-we'll catch up later-!"

I hastily made my way across the hall before Ron got the guts to come out from under the table and over to Pansy Bulstrode and Tracey.

For some reason, Daphne was down the table talking to a girl I didn't recognise.

Tracey handed me my schedule(which had a vague note on it about course counselling on Friday afternoons, which is apparently the innocent excuse Professor Snape came up with as a cover for my telepathy lessons; Potions is my best class, so Remedial Potions was out, but I have a reputation when it comes to studying, tests, and homework that makes 'course counselling' a bit more believable).

Pansy was still laughing.

"As soon as curfew's over, you have got to tell us why the hell you, Potter and Weasley thought any of this was a good idea-"

"It's Potter, what did you expect?" Bulstrode said, seeming to enjoy my public humiliation(even if Ron did cop it waaay worse).

"You know, despite what you might think-" I told her, unable to help it when I heard what she was thinking, "I don't do this shit for attention-"

"Sure, Potter," she scoffed, rolling her eyes to Pansy.

"But I don't-you know what, whatever-" I sighed, giving up and turning to Tracey, "so, whose the first year Daphne's talking to?"

"Oh, that's Astoria," she said, "her little sister."

I did a double-take.

"Daphne has a little sister?"

"Right?" Pansy agreed. "I didn't even know she had siblings-and she's never even mentioned Astoria before-"

"Does anyone else have any secret siblings I should know about?" I wondered in disbelief.

Tracey rose her hand.

"Well, I guess Malakai would count-"

"'Malakai?'" Pansy echoed, startled. "Wait, do you have a brother? Why am I just finding this out?"

"You never asked," Tracey reasoned with a shrug. "Kai's really only my half-brother-he's just turned five. My step-mother's been harassing dad to have another kid-and mum's boyfriend, who's pretty much my step-dad even though they've not got married yet, wants kids, and mum wouldn't mind having more little me's running about...plus, it's another chance to get a kid in Ravenclaw like she was-" she added.

"I have an older sister in Ravenclaw-Prudence-" Bulstrode chimed in and, judging by her expression, it was clear they didn't get along.

"You have a sister in Ravenclaw?" I blurted.

She scowled.

"What? I didn't say anything-" I added hastily, raising my hands.

Bulstrode grunted, but the nasty look she shot me didn't exactly promise nice things.

"Well, I'm an only child-" Pansy remarked flippantly, "it's one of the many things Draco and I have in common-" I mimed gagging while she wasn't looking, and Tracey barely suppressed a giggle, "and, considering your whole family is literally famous, I'm assuming you don't have any secret brothers or sisters-?"

She glanced at me.

My expression momentarily faltered.

"None I'd know about," I joked dryly, tucking my hands into my pockets.

Daphne made her way back over.

"Wow," she said, no doubt referencing the Howler.

"Can we pretend that didn't happen?" I said hopefully.

"Not a chance."

I groaned, and she smirked.

"So," she went on, "aside from making fun of Jewel-which I better of not missed out on-what are we talking about?"

"Secret siblings," I countered, looking at her pointedly.

Daphne's smirk dropped and, when she fixed it back on her face, it looked strained.

"Oh. Cool," she said.

"-You okay, Daph?" I asked her slowly, taken off guard by the off vibes I was picking up from her.

"Why wouldn't I be? And if I were you, Potter-" she added testily as she sat down, "I'd have something to eat before breakfast is over-"

"Er, right-"

I shared a confused look with Tracey and Pansy.

Pansy shrugged.

꧖ꦿꦸ⊰ ⊱꧖ꦿꦸ

After breakfast, I followed my dormmates out of the Great Hall, still subtly side-eyeing Daphne, confused by how weird she was being about Astoria(and why she kept changing the subject whenever any of us tried to call her out on it-mostly to Mrs Weasley's Howler and making fun of me; Malfoy came over to join in-it was a blast, really...but, also, relieving? to see that yesterday-my telepathy-hadn't changed anything-), but just as we reached the entrance's wide, marble flight of Cinderella steps-

"Oh-Jewel!"

Hearing the familiar voice, I was all ready to pretend I didn't and keep walking-or running-running sounds like a fantastic idea-

So, naturally, Pansy just had to grab my arm.

"Jewel, Professor Lockhart's calling you-" the hard-faced girl giggled.

Even Bulstrode looked starstruck.

She was even twirling her hair, it was the most disturbing thing I've ever witnessed(including Voldemort's face on the back of Quirrell's head-somehow, Bulstrode twirling her hair was worse-).

"Is he?" I deadpanned. "I didn't notice."

My unenthusiastic response went right over her head(and it didn't help that, when I glanced over at the famous author who smiled dazzlingly with a cheery wave, my telepathy decided to clue me in on what this was about-).

Tracey was the first one to catch on to how much I so did not want to be subjected to this conversation(even if she couldn't imagine why I wouldn't want to talk to our attractive, famous new Defence Professor).

(look, I get it, the bloke is good-looking and a celebrity-if I ever met Robert Downey Jr. or Westley from the Princess Bride, I'd trip over myself and giggle like an idiot too-but come on-).

"You'd better go over there," she concluded, "I don't think he's going to go awa-oh, he's coming over here-never mind-"

"Hope you don't mind, but I've been wanting a word, Jewel-" Lockhart said as he came to a stop in front of us, still flashing his pearly whites, "won't take long-I have to head down to meet Professor Sprout-she's doctoring the Whomping Willow, and I daresay she could use my expertise-not to say I'm better at Herbology than she is, of course, but I've met several of these exotic plants on my travels-"

Lockhart turned a charming smile on Pansy Bulstrode Tracey and Daphne.

"You don't mind if I steal her, do you, girls?"

"Not at all," Pansy rushed to say, twirling her own hair.

"But-"

"We'll save you a seat in class-" she added, shooting me a look to tell them everything later and somehow continuing to miss my don't go, I don't want to be alone with this prat look(even Daphne and Bulstrode got it at that point, but they seemed more inclined to let me suffer for their own enjoyment-and people say I'm evil-).

"Pansy, I actually think-" Tracey attempted.

Pansy grabbed her arm and she shut up, ears pink.

"Come on, we don't want to be late-"

"Pansy-" I hissed.

She headed up the staircase, bringing Tracey with her.

Bulstrode followed.

As she passed, Daphne mockingly mouthed 'enjoy'.

I subtly flipped her off, and she smirked.

"Jewel," Lockhart began as soon as they were gone, shaking his head-but somehow still managing to flash his teeth, even when he wasn't talking. "Jewel, Jewel, Jewel."

Bueller, Bueller, Bueller.

"When I heard-well, of course, it was all my fault. Could have kicked myself. Don't know when I've been more shocked. Flying a car to Hogwarts! Well, of course, I knew at once why you'd done it-"

"I really don't think you do."

"Stood out a mile. Jewel, Jewel, Jewel-"

"Would you quit saying my name?"

"Gave you a taste for publicity, didn't I?" he went on like he didn't even hear me, to my irritation. "Gave you the bug."

"You know what, I have been feeling a bit like I have a bug-I should probably go see Madam Pomfrey-"

"You got onto the front page of the paper with me and you couldn't wait to do it again."

"Oh, yeah-you've got my number, alright."

"Jewel, Jewel, Jewel."

"Why does he keep saying my name?" I groaned under my breath.

He grasped my shoulder, and I grimaced.

"I understand. Natural to want a bit more once you've had that first taste-and I blame myself for giving you that, because it was bound to go to your head-"

"Wow, I had no idea; thank you for helping me realise how full of myself I've become since that front-page article that I never saw and could care less about-it's really made me reevaluate my life-you've given me a lot to think about-"

"-but see here, young lady-"

"Did you just unironically call me 'young lady?'-"

"-you can't start flying cars to try and get yourself noticed-"

"You don't say?"

"Just calm down, alright? Plenty of time for all that when you're older. Yes, yes, I know what you're thinking!"

"You know I'm thinking about murdering you, creating a fake identity, and fleeing the country?"

"'It's alright for him, he's an internationally famous wizard already!'"

"Riiight, yep, that's what I was thinking-it was definitely that, and not my thing-"

"But when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now. In fact, I'd say I was even more of a nobody!"

I stared at him in unadulterated disbelief.

"I mean, a few people have heard of you, haven't they? All that business with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!"

He glanced at my neck where my scar was hidden by my hair.

"Yeah, a few people may be familiar with the story."

"I know, I know-it's not quite as good as winning Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award five times in a row, as I have-but it's a start, Jewel, it's a start."

"I mean, when we were one, Harry and I defeated 'He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named'-" I deadpanned, my voice pitching mockingly at Voldemort's title, "and ended an entire war after he murdered our parents and tried to do the same to us-but no, how could that possibly compare to you winning an award for having nice teeth?"

"That's the ticket!" Lockhart said(somehow not noticing how sarcastic I was being), shooting me a hearty wink before striding off.

I gawped after him, speechless.

The second Lockhart vanished out the front door, someone abruptly burst out laughing and I jolted, spinning around-

"Yep, that's about right," I sighed.

A few feet away, Malfoy was currently hunched over in hysterics.

"I'm so glad I stuck around when Lockhart called your name-" he sniggered, "that was the best thing I've ever seen-"

"Oh shut it, would you?" I scowled, crossing my arms.

My face felt warm, and I was toootally not pouting.

"Good thinking-" he said, "I wouldn't want to make you get all full of yourself again now that Lockhart's gotten you to reevaluate your life-"

"Yeah, okay-"

Fed up, I just walked off.

Unsurprisingly, he quickly caught up to me.

"Are you going to see Pomfrey about that bug?"

"I hate you."

"So you've said."

"...Were me and Harry seriously on the front page with that prat?" I asked after a beat, despite half not wanting to know the answer.

"The photographer managed to get a picture of the one moment you weren't pulling faces or looking at Lockhart like you thought he was an idiot-personally, I didn't think there was one, but-"

I groaned, running a hand over my face.

"I can get a copy if you want-" he added.

"You do that."

"I'll have it framed-hang it in the common room-"

"Great thinking."

"Oh, but that might make you even more full of yourself-"

"Wouldn't want that."

"Especially when you're working so hard to reevaluate your life-"

"Hanging my picture in the common room would definitely set me back-"

"That's the ticket!" Malfoy said, mimicking Lockhart's voice.

I laughed into the back of my hand.

The blonde smirked proudly.

For the next hour and a half or so, Daphne Tracey Pansy and I tuned out Binns' lecture(yep, on top of all the fun times I had this morning, I also had double History of Magic first up-who the hell assigns double History of Magic first thing on a Tuesday morning? Or ever?-maybe Daphne was right about that curse affecting more than just Harry-), whispering about what happened with Lockhart earlier.

Daphne mostly just made fun of me and, when I was done, Pansy and Tracey joined in-and so did Bulstrode.

And Malfoy.

And his bodyguards.

And, somehow, Zabini.

It was great.

Suffice to say, as soon as the lunch bell rang, I meep meeped off to Harry Ron and Hermione and Gryffindor table.

Ron's day seemed to be going about as well as Maleficent's when every-single-Tom-Dick-and-bloomin'-Harry in the kingdom was invited to Aurora's christening, even the weirdos, but she was flat-out snubbed.

(seriously though, if you're gonna openly disrespect someone unironically called 'the Mistress of All Evil', you get what you get-I mean, realistically, what exactly did they all expect to happen?; I bet she would've given Aurora the most badass gift too-instead, Aurora got song and beauty and a gift to counteract Maleficent's curse because every "good guy" in that movie is stupid; just give the evil fairy some cake, no one gets cursed, everybody has a good time-it's not that hard).

Hermione was showing off a handful of coat buttons that she had apparently transfigured from beetles in class.

"Yo," I greeted, doing the Vulcan salute and sliding into the space on Harry's other side.

"Hi, Jules," Harry replied, seeming eager to change the subject from Hermione's buttons(which appeared to be contributing to Ron's bad mood; apparently, he borrowed some Spellotape to patch up his wand but it kept crackling and sparking at odd moments-and, whenever he tried to transfigure his beetle into a button, he was engulfed in thick rotten egg-smelling grey smoke-not being able to see and all, he ended up squishing his beetle with his elbow and had to ask for a new one-McGonagall was not amused-).

"So, did Lockhart give you the whole-" I flashed my teeth, mimicking the blonde, "'Jewel, Jewel, Jewel-'" I shook my head mockingly, "'it's all my fault-could've kicked myself-I gave you a taste of publicity-gave you the bug-' speech?"

"Oh, you mean; 'natural to want a bit more once you've had that first taste-'" Harry continued quoting sarcastically, "'and I blame myself for giving you that, because it was bound to go to your head-'"

"'But see here, young lady-'" I waggled my finger at him.

"'-you can't start flying cars to try and get yourself noticed-'"

"'-when I was twelve, I was just as much of a nobody as you are now. In fact, I'd say I was even more of a nobody!'"

Harry grinned.

"And what about; 'I mean, a few people have heard of you, haven't they? All that business with He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named!'"

"'I know, I know-'" we finished in unison, "'it's not quite as good as winning Witch Weekly's Most Charming Smile Award five times in a row, as I have-but it's a start.'"

We snorted laughs, the incident with Lockhart becoming even more ridiculous and funny now that we knew we'd both experienced it.

"Did he rehearse that, do you think?" I wondered wryly, pouring myself a goblet of water.

"Probably," Harry chuckled.

Ron and Hermione were staring at us.

"That was freaky-" Ron said, pointing at us, "and I grew up with Fred and George-"

"You're just jealous you didn't get your own one-on-one with Lockhart-" I joked.

"Yeah, I don't think I am-"

"So, what've we got this afternoon?" Harry asked after a minute.

"Defence Against the Dark Arts," Hermione answered in a blink without even having to think about it, which rose figurative eyebrows.

"Ouch-" I winced sympathetically, "I do not envy you, Scotchy-I think I have McGonagall, but I'd have to check-"

"Why," Ron suddenly demanded as he snatched Hermione's schedule, "have you outlined all Lockhart's lessons in little hearts?"

I peered over Harry, pulling a face.

"Well, there goes my appetite-"

She snatched it back, blushing furiously.

After lunch, we headed out to the courtyard.

Harry Ron and I mostly just stood around talking about Quidditch while Hermione pulled out her copy of Voyages with Vampires and sat down on a nearby step.

At least, until we realised we were being watched.

More specifically, me and Harry.

Harry and I looked up only to find the tiny, mousy-haired first year we'd spotted being Sorted last night clutching a camera and gawking, transfixed, at us. When he realised he'd been caught, he turned a vivid shade of red.

"Alright, Harry? Alright, Jewel? I'm-I'm Colin Creevey," he breathlessly introduced as he took a tentative step towards us. "I'm a Gryffindor, too. D'you think-would it be alright if-can I have a picture?"

He hopefully rose his camera.

We looked at each other, dumbfounded.

"'A picture?'" Harry parroted blankly.

"So I can prove I've met you," Colin explained eagerly as he edged closer to us. "I know all about you. Everyone's told me. About how you survived when You-Know-Who tried to kill you and how he disappeared and everything and how you've still got a lightning scar on your forehead-" his eyes went to Harry's forehead, "and Jewel's got a crescent moon scar on her neck-" his gaze swept over my neck, "and a boy in my dormitory said if I develop the film in the right potion, the pictures'll move."

Overexcited, Colin had to stop briefly to take in a huge, shuddering breath.

"It's amazing here, isn't it? I never knew all the odd stuff I could do was magic 'til I got the letter from Hogwarts. My dad's a milkman, he couldn't believe it either. So I'm taking loads of pictures to send home to him. And it'd be really good if I had one of you-" he stared up at us imploringly, "maybe your friend could take it and I could stand next to you? And then, you could sign it?"

"Has anyone ever told you that you are insanely adorable?" I wondered half-seriously.

Colin stared up at me like a deer in headlights(if the deer was blushing as red as Ron's hair, and looking at the car like it was a goddess or something).

"Signed photos? You're giving out signed photos, Potters'?" an all too familiar voice suddenly and scathingly interrupted, echoing loudly throughout the courtyard.

Malfoy had stopped behind Colin with Crabbe and Goyle flanking him.

"Everyone line up!" he roared. "The Potter twins are giving out signed photos!"

"No, we're not," Harry said angrily, his hands clenching into fists. "Shut up, Malfoy."

At the same time, I held up a hand, calling out, "Yeah, line up-just 5 Sickles a pop-signed photos of the famous Potter twins at reasonable prices-for a Galleon, we'll even let you poke Harry's scar-!"

"We're-we're not doing that-Jewel!"

Harry shot me an exasperated look.

"What?" I blinked back at him innocently.

Malfoy snorted.

"Look, if you play along, it'll just piss him off-and, I mean," I added, "if we get money for handing out signed photos, would that really be the worse thing in the world?"

Harry, like Queen Victoria, was not amused.

Ron seemed all for it.

"You're just jealous," Colin told Malfoy.

I pretty much immediately cracked up laughing.

"Ha! Hammer, meet nail. Brilliant, Colin-"

Colin looked like he could've died happy.

Malfoy scowled.

"Jealous?" he repeated, not bothering to shout now that most of the courtyard had stopped to listen. "Of what? I don't want a foul scar right across my head, thanks. I don't think getting your head cut open-or your neck-makes you that special, myself."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered stupidly.

"Eat slugs, Malfoy," Ron angrily retorted.

Crabbe shut up, rubbing his knuckles menacingly.

"Not your best insult-" I teased, "but I love the energy, Ronnie-"

"Shut up, Jewel."

"Eat slugs, Ronnie. Oh, that's fun-never mind, I like it now-"

Ron looked exasperated.

"Be careful, Weasley," Malfoy sneered. "You don't want to start any trouble or your mommy'll have to come and take you away from school." The blonde put on a shrill, piercing voice, "'If you put another toe out of line-'"

A nearby group of fifth-year Slytherins laughed loudly.

Unable to keep a straight face at hisbad/amazing imitation of Mrs Weasley, I had to cover my mouth with both hands and look away-but, judging by Harry and Ron's faces, they'd noticed and weren't impressed.

My shoulders were literally shaking.

"Sorry, I can't-oh my god-that wasn't funny-I'm not laughing-shit-"

Malfoy looked entirely too proud of himself.

"Weasley would like a signed photo, Potter," he added to my twin, smirking. "It'd be worth more than his family's whole house-"

Ron whipped out his wand(seeing the Spellotape keeping it together, I winced)but, before anything could happen, Hermione's book snapped shut.

"Look out!" she whispered.

"What's all this, what's all this?"

The second I saw Lockhart striding towards us, turquoise robes dramatically swirling behind him, I instinctively dropped again.

"Who's giving out signed photos?"

I hastily crawled behind Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle, taking cover.

Malfoy rose both his eyebrows at me.

'I'm not here,' I mouthed, hiding behind his legs.

"Shouldn't have asked!" Lockhart said jovially-and loudly-and I peeked around Malfoy to see he'd flung an arm around my brother's shoulders, cutting him off before he could speak and taking him hostage. "We meet again, Harry!"

Harry's face was bright red.

"-He'll probably be fine," I decided, my healthy streak of self-preservation winning over his obvious humiliation.

Malfoy coughed, covering a laugh.

"Shut up!" I whispered sharply.

"Oh, sorry-" he purposely rose his voice, "I wouldn't want to give away your hiding place, Jewel!"

I stared up at him, mentally calling him every bad word/name under the sun.

"Jewel, well I should've known!" Lockhart's cheerful face was replaced with a bewildered look, "Why are you on the ground?"

"Why...aren't you...on the ground?" I countered slowly, looking around Malfoy and narrowing my eyes at him awkwardly.

Malfoy snorted loudly.

"Shut up, dingbat!" I hissed, jabbing his leg.

"Hey, Crabbe, why don't you help Jewel up-?"

"Hey, Crabbe, how about you keep your hands to yourself before I-Motherfuc-! Merlin's fluffy, polyester, red leopard print, satin-lined pimp coat!"

Crabbe straight-up picked me up.

"Oh, I hate you so much-" I moaned as Crabbe carried me against my will over to Harry and Lockhart and dropped me on my feet.

And he wasn't exactly gentle about it.

Lockhart looked startled.

"Well, that's one way to do things-" he swiftly recovered, smiling brilliantly, "here we go-"

The next thing I knew, I was being swept under his other arm.

Malfoy smirked at me from the crowd, and I shot him a dirty look.

"Come on then, Mr Creevey-" Lockhart beamed at Colin, "A triple portrait, can't do better than that, and we'll all sign it for you."

Fumbling with his camera, Colin took the picture seconds before the bell rang.

"Off you go, move along there," Lockhart called to the crowd. "Jewel-" he turned to me, "I don't suppose you have my class until Thurs-"

"Nope!" I instantly ducked out from beneath his arm. "Bye Harry-love you-"

I legged it and, once again appearing bewildered but speedily bouncing back, Lockhart led my still very captive twin back inside.

"I am so dead when Harry catches me later-" I mused under my breath as I ducked out of the courtyard and slowed to a walk.

Then, spotting Malfoy-

"Oi! You-you stuck-up, half-witted, scruffy-looking nerf-herder!"

"What's the matter, Potter?" Malfoy taunted as I stalked up to him, grinning unrepentantly, "didn't enjoy your photo op with Lockhart?"

"What part of I'm not here was so hard for you to comprehend?" I exclaimed, punching him a bit too hard in the shoulder, and he flinched but quickly recovered(pretending that totally didn't even hurt to save face in front of his bodyguards), "I mean, even Crabbe and Goyle can understand basic English-"

Crabbe and Goyle scowled at me.

"Oh, I understood you," he drawled, "I just thought my way would be funnier-it was-"

"I hate you."

"So you've told me. Many times."

"Stuck-up dingbat."

"Gilderoy Lockhart fangirl."

"-Okay, now that was just uncalled for-no, seriously-you took it too far-"

Malfoy's grin suddenly faltered and he stopped in place.

"-Wait, scruffy-looking?"

Smirking, I just kept walking.

"What's that supposed to-? Oi, Potter, wait up-what do you mean, 'scruffy-looking?'"

"Tell you what, though," I went on, ignoring the affronted and bewildered blonde, "I am so glad we don't have Defence until Thursday."

Hilariously, when I looked up, I found Malfoy self-consciously fixing his hair.

"Shut it," he scowled, looking embarrassed when he caught sight of the grin I was struggling to hold back(I even unthinkingly ruffled my own hair-because, apparently, I can't help but be a relentless smartass, even subconsciously).

"I didn't say anything."

"I hate you."

"Oh, I bet you say that to all the girls."

"Lunatic."

"Entitled Git."

"Loud-mouthed brat-"

"You're calling me a brat? I'd say that's the pot calling the kettle black, but that's more like the pot calling the stove a vacuum-"

"What the hell is that even supposed to even mean?"

"The fact you even have to ask-"

"Shut up, Potter."

"Bite me, Malfoy."

꧖ꦿꦸ⊰ ⊱꧖ꦿꦸ

God, I wish I had Defence today.

While us Slytherins were in Transfigurations, slaving away turning beetles into buttons for McGonagall-the love of my life/afternoon's tyrannical overlord(it was a piece of cake-or, at least, I thought so; hands-on/practical work/spell-casting/potion-making are where I excel the most and, despite how much I play up, Transfigurations is actually one of my best classes-it comes easy to me, and it's a genuine interest of mine; last year, I read Transformation Through the Ages, and got super into it-there was this one section in particular on 'Animagi'-people who can turn into animals at will-it'sawesome-), the Gryffindors were off having the best Defence Against the Dark Arts lesson ever.

First off, Lockhart had them do a test all about him like the narcissistic fop he is(I am so looking forward to it, too-I asked Ron and Harry which questions they remembered and we brainstormed all the creative ways I could answer them during dinner; Hermione was so fed up with us that she got up and went to sit down the table, while Dean Neville and Seamus enthusiastically joined in; suffice to say, that cheered 'em right up after having to deal with Lockhart, who I've officially lost all confidence in).

After that was when the real fun started.

Lockhart, despite supposedly being this Defence Against the Dark Arts guru(which I'm highly sceptical of, his books be damned), thought it'd be a brilliant idea to kick off his first class by siccing a cage of Cornish Pixies on them.

Cornish. Bloody. Pixies.

They're these tiny, shrill, electric-blue magical creatures that are, well-basically little versions of Peeves. They're bite-sized, chaotic, flying, trouble-making menaces that make Fred and George look like Percy and Hermione and, despite being about as tall as an eight-inch banana, cause an impressive amount of damage.

Pandemonium ensued.

Two of the pixies seized Neville by his ears and lifted him into the air.

Several others smashed right through the window, showering the back row of the classroom with broken glass.

Students were sprayed with ink bottles.

Pictures decorating the walls, papers, and books were torn and shredded.

The wastebasket was upended.

Bags and books were hurled out the smashed window.

By the end, half the class had taken cover under their desks, and poor Neville was swingin' on the iron chandelier above them.

In the midst of all of that, Lockhart told them to, and I quote, "round them up, round them up, they're only pixies," and proceeded to roll up his sleeves. The boys had no clue what the so-called 'professor' was going for, but Harry said that the incantation for the spell that he tried to cast was "Peskipiksi Pesternomi".

Nothing happened.

No, actually, something did happen.

A pixie nicked his wand right out of his hand and threw it out a window.

To cut a long story short, Lockhart dove to hide beneath his own desk, the chandelier gave way and dropped Neville(who very nearly landed on him), then the bell rang and everyone was kinda like-"see ya!"/"every man for himself!"

Before Harry Ron and Hermione could leg it themselves, Lockhart spotted them and told them to "nip the rest of them back into their cage" and took off.

-seriously, just up and swanned off leaving three twelve-year-olds to clean up his mess.

To my disbelief, according to Ron, Hermione rationalized that he probably just wanted to give them some "hands-on experience".

Shit, I hope I don't get this stupid about people I've got a crush on(but, then again, Killian Mackenzie...yeah, not my proudest moment, there-).

After hearing about what happened with Lockhart and the Cornish Pixies, I found myself seriously revisiting that whole 'I might be cursed' thing.

I mean, you'd have to be, to miss all that.

But hey, Thursday.

Who knows, Lockhart might bring more pixies.

Or something even better.

All I know is, I'm gonna do real bad but so good on that quiz of his.

After dinner, Pansy Tracey Bulstrode Daphne and I hung out in the common room until it finally cleared out around curfew-with the exception of Malfoy and his lot, something I probably should've seen coming.

I decided to just give over(Pansy Daphne and Tracey were all staring at me pleadingly-Pansy because she wanted Malfoy to stay, and Daphne and Tracey because they wanted me to 'play nice' to save them the inevitable headache).

I mean, he wouldn't of left anyway, and I was already in my pyjamas(a dark blue Fleetwood Mac band shirt, my new blue and white tie-dye sleep shorts-they have two white faux buttons on the front, and all these cute smiley faces and peace signs that look like they were drawn on with a black marker, and I love them, and a pair of blue tie-dye slouch socks)and all snuggly-and, therefore, more agreeable.

As soon as the coast was clear(and it was established that I couldn't be bothered arguing about Malfoy Crabbe and Goyle sticking around), we all grabbed our blankets from our dorms and set up by the fire.

Likely hearing what was going on from Crabbe or Goyle or even Malfoy himself, Zabini and Nott decided to join us again.

"Okey-dokey," I hummed as I dropped my blankets on the floor in front of the fireplace(so they'll be all toasty and warm when I get back)only to pause right after, "-a phrase I'm having second thoughts on-" I mumbled to myself, "but whatever, I'm committed now-okey-dokey-dokey-okey, okey-dokey-"

"Did someone drop you when you were a kid or something?" Malfoy wondered seriously, dropping his blankets near mine.

"It's a real possibility," I agreed matter-of-factly. "Also, that implies that I was held. Anyway, you lot sit tight-" I added before he had the chance to react to my dry(but also kinda true)self-deprecating joke, stretching casually, "I'll be right back-"

"Where're you off to?" Zabini questioned, confused.

"Kitchens," I said, surprising him Nott Crabbe and Goyle.

Crabbe and Goyle perked up.

"You know where the kitchens are?" Nott was the first to ask.

"A good magician never reveals their secrets," I quipped, grinning slyly. "But yes. Freddie and Georgie showed me. I might talk to a lot-like, waaay more than I'm proud of or comfortable admitting to-of random walls trying to find our common room but, thanks to those two, I know all the best secret spots in and out of the castle. You ever need a good shortcut-or a midnight snack, I'm your girl."

(what? I never said I was a good magician-I mean, I'm a literal witch, I'm pretty sure that's cheating; I'm brilliant at card games, though-if any of these lot knew how to play blackjack/rummy/black maria/poker or even Uno, I'd take 'em for all they're worth with a smile on my face-I'm a total ringer-I've been playing since I was, like, three when my foster father of the week thought it'd be funny to deal me in on a poker game he and his buddies were having at the house-I'd destroy them...hm, note to self: trick these lot into learning to play Muggle card games so I can destroy them-sounds fun-).

"'Freddie and Georgie?'" Zabini repeated, mockingly raising an eyebrow.

"Those fourth year blood traitor Weasley twins she hangs around," Malfoy offhandedly explained with an eye roll.

"Ah," he said, wrinkling his nose distastefully.

"Oi, be nice-" I ordered lightly, pointing at the pair.

"That's rich coming from you," Malfoy scoffed.

I flipped him off, likely proving his point but not really giving a damn.

He just smirked at me.

"How do you think she kept getting her hands on travel mugs during exam week?" Pansy added obviously to Nott. "She just popped into the kitchens like she owned the place, and no one asked any questions."

"That entire week is a haze of caffeine-" I joked, "and, you know, that bloke I punched and murdered-not sure if they're connected, but I wouldn't rule it out-"

"Correct me if I'm wrong," Malfoy remarked, "but I'm pretty sure I overheard you swearing to Granger that it was 'just lemonade'-"

"It could've been lemonade!" I defended a bit sheepishly. "A caffeine-y kind of lemonade."

"It could've been the blood of your enemies-" he deadpanned sarcastically, "but that doesn't mean it was."

"Knowing Jewel, though..." Daphne mused, sardonic.

"Anyway-" I huffed, running my fingers through my hair, "I should probably go grab the food so we can get this over with-the kitchens are just in the basement, so I shouldn't be too long-talk amongst yourselves-" Then, stepping over legs and blankets, I twirled to shoot them all a playful wink, "don't do anything I wouldn't do-"

"I don't think anyone was planning on doing homework-" Malfoy drawled.

I poked out my tongue childishly at the smug blonde as the others sniggered(the traitors that they are), and he grinned.

"It's the first day, what homework do we even have?" Pansy wondered.

"Trust Jewel to still be doing her holiday homework during the first week of school-" Daphne commented ironically.

"Oi!" I exclaimed, feigning offence but unable to completely bite back my grin, "I don't have to stand for this mutiny, you know-I'll rebel-"

"You do that."

"Don't greenlight Jewel rebelling!" Tracey scolded, elbowing the taller blonde. "Merlin knows what she'd do with that-"

"Whatever it is, it's bound to be interesting," Zabini reasoned flippantly.

"And totally chaotic-" Pansy chimed in.

"I imagine fireworks and burning piles of homework-" Malfoy dryly commented.

"I do like that..." I pondered, green eyes sparkling.

"Stop giving her ideas!"

Tracey looked genuinely distressed.

"Don't worry, Trace-" I said casually, waving a dismissive hand as I headed for the wall entrance/exit, "I probably won't launch a homework revolution-at least, not until later in the term-gotta work up to something like that, you know?-and it's a bit soon after the flying car-best let McGonagall cool off a bit first-"

"...I feel like you should worry," Daphne told Tracey blandly.

"When she sets all the homework on fire and takes over the school," the Irish girl moaned, hands covering her face, "I'm blaming you lot-"

I skipped out of the common room, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

The Hogwarts kitchens are located through a door off the entrance hall; down a set of stairs(that lead into the Hufflepuff basement); down a broad stone basement corridor(which is brightly lit and decorated with food-themed paintings); behind a painting of a bowl of fruit(you just tickle the pear on the painting and it giggles and transforms into a large green door handle); and right under the Great Hall(as illustrated by the size, the high ceilings, and the four wooden tables that perfectly matched the ones above)and has a stone-flagged floor, brass pots and pans on the stone walls, and a great brick fireplace.

-not to mention the hundred or so eager to serve house-elves.

(after meeting Dobby, I found myself looking at them with new eyes; it was uncomfortable having them jump to serve me now, but I didn't want to start a whole revolution without understanding the situation, which meant a visit to the library and a long conversation with a professor or Hagrid or someone-and even sitting down with a few of the house-elves themselves to get their point of view of it all-and there's no way they're mistreated in any way here at Hogwarts, of all places-and I know that they like visitors, and they might be upset if I suddenly stop using the kitchens after establishing myself as a regular patron-but, you know, they're practically slaves, and that's super fucked-up, and I don't know how to feel about it when it seems to be so normalized in wizard culture-).

Once I'd placed my order(the house-elves volunteered to just bring the food up to us so I wouldn't have to carry everything myself and, despite my discomfort, I only have the two arms-I counted, and I kinda needed the help), I slipped back out of the kitchens, sneaking back to the dungeons in plain sight(I could've borrowed the Invisibility Cloak, but it's Harry's week-also, I didn't think of that earlier, so-).

Luck seemed to be on my side because I didn't run into anyone-and I even found the common room on my third try.

Progress!

Kind of!

I don't know!

-the bar isn't set very high here!

"Where's the food?" Malfoy asked when I dropped onto the floor across from/beside him(we were sitting next to each other, but he was sitting a bit more diagonally), eagerly snuggling myself up in my blankets.

"House-elves are bringing it up," I mumbled, rubbing my face against the soft, fire-warmed material and groaning happily.

"You are so weird," the blonde said, but he looked amused.

"Shut up-it's so perfectly, fantastically warm-" I defended with a pout, "and I lost feeling in my fingers and toes about ten minutes ago-should've just written down the directions and made one of you lot go-"

"Okay-" Pansy interjected in a slightly raised voice, lips pursing a bit, "so, you flew a car to school...?"

"Oh, yeah-storytime-sorry-" I blew my fringe out of my face, huddling deeper into my blankets, "So, you know how Ron and Harry are idiots, right?"

"Yes," Malfoy was unsurprisingly first to agree.

"Great. We'll start there. Ron and Harry are idiots."

"With you so far," he said, smirking.

I stuck out my tongue at him.

"Mature."

"Oh, always."

Malfoy snorted and I grinned, tongue between my teeth.

Leaving out obvious key details(like Alistair and Dakota; I didn't outright lie but, when they arrived at the conclusion that I'd spent the summer at the Burrow with Harry and the Weasleys, I didn't exactly go out of my way to contradict that assumption-), I explained how we had roughly five or so minutes before the train was set to leave to cross over onto Platform Nine and Three-Quarters(because the Weasley's car kept having to be turned back around for things that'd been forgotten; i.e., Ginny's diary, Fred's entire broomstick, and George's fireworks)-and Harry Ron and I were the last ones to go through the barrier-but that, for some reason, it shut early-something I still don't bloomin' understand-

Hearing about Harry and Ron's head-on collision with a stone pillar was something the others, Malfoy in particular, seemed to greatly enjoy.

Not to mention my dramatic flair for storytelling.

That's about when the house-elves popped into existence with two huge bowls of buttery popcorn and a tall plate of chocolate brownies for us to share; toasting forks; marshmallows; and mugs of hot chocolate.

"Thanks, Ruffles," I said softly as I gratefully wrapped my slightly numb fingers around my beautifully hot mug.

"The Duchess is most welcome," the amber-eyed elf squeaked, beaming.

Malfoy choked on his hot chocolate.

He stared at me in disbelief, and I grinned sheepishly behind my lightly steaming drink.

With a crack like a whip, the elves vanished.

"'Duchess?'" Pansy and Tracey immediately sputtered.

"I had no idea we were in the company of royalty, your grace," Daphne said sarcastically, mock bowing towards me.

"I try not to advertise it," I sniffed jokingly.

"Of course you don't," Malfoy snorted.

I shot him a tongue-in-teeth grin, and he smirked faintly.

"You'd think you'd all be used to this by now," Nott remarked dryly. "Honestly, I'm more surprised she's a duchess and not Queen of France or something-"

"I'm twelve-" I said, shrugging carelessly, "I'm workin' up to it. And there's no way I was gonna be a princess-Malfoy would never let me live it down-"

"I wouldn't," the blonde agreed shamelessly. "Good instincts."

I very maturely stuck out my tongue again, and he smirked.

Pansy was looking at me weirdly.

"You're working up to becoming 'Queen of France?'"

"I'm working up to becoming Supreme Ruler of the Universe-" I corrected airily, "but Queen of France is a good place to start, sure-"

"...We're in the company of a mental patient," Daphne sighed.

"It could be worse," Zabini commented offhandedly, "at least she's an attractive mental patient. She openly jokes about murdering our last Defence Professor, and no one even bats an eye." There was a note of newfound respect in the vain Slytherin's voice, "She's literally pretty enough to get away with murder."

Malfoy looked up sharply.

Pansy and Tracey grinned at me suggestively, while Daphne quirked an eyebrow and Bulstrode rolled her eyes in disgust.

Nott looked at me consideringly, before shrugging fairly.

Crabbe and Goyle were stuffing their faces with popcorn and brownies.

"Aw, Danke-" I blew the dark-skinned boy a kiss and shot him a wink, much preferring his version of events to the presumably less flattering reality.

Zabini smirked.

Malfoy's face twisted.

"How about, instead of flirting with Zabini-" the blonde's voice sharpened suddenly, grey eyes narrowing, "you finish explaining how the hell you, Potter and Weasley ended up taking a joy ride to Scotland in a stolen flying car."

"Alright, alright, calm down-" I held my hands up in mock surrender, "and watch the attitude, stuck-up-I'm getting there-"

I went over Harry and Ron's freak out-how they were being pigheaded idiots and refused to listen to me-and how, when I realised they weren't going to give over, I owled Professor Snape and Mr and Mrs Weasley and-

"You tricked them into promising to take all the blame?" Pansy echoed looking surprised but impressed.

She wasn't the only one.

'Surprised/impressed' seemed to be the general vibe of the room.

"All I had to do was act like they were 'wearing me down'-" I told her, grinning mischievously, "invoke Professor Snape...and, by that point, they'd of said just about anything to convince me to take the car; I'd say it was like taking candy from a baby, but it was more like convincing two really thick-that, or gullible-toddlers that the candy was really mine the entire time and them just giving it to me. I threw them waaay under the bus in those letters I sent and covered my own ass, so I wasn't really worried about getting into too much trouble-and I kinda wanted to fly the car to school, sooo..."

"Of course you did," Malfoy drawled, but he was looking at me admiringly.

"That is actually brilliant-" Daphne decided, nodding to herself and biting a chocolate brownie in half, "not bad, Potter."

"It was some of my best work, really-" I sighed wistfully.

Refocusing, I took a deep sip from my hot chocolate and continued.

I covered the Invisibility Booster failing-how we used the clouds as cover but had to dip down now and again to check for the train(which got us spotted by a handful of Muggles all the way from London to Peebles)-how, after a few hours, the novelty wore off and we were hungry, thirsty, sweaty, and just wanted to get it over with-how I got the radio to pick up Muggle stations, which was fun for a while-

But then, as we passed over the mountains around sunset, the engine suddenly started to make that weird, anxiety-inducing whining noise.

The radio stopped working, leaving us in tense silence-and, just when we finally reached the castle and felt that relief hit, the engine started to groan-jets of steam coming from the hood as the car wobbled dangerously-we covered the lake-

"-so there we were, flying towards the castle, when Ron put his foot down on the gas and it just died. Shut off. Mid-air."

"You're kidding!" Tracey gasped.

"Nope-" I said, popping the 'p'. "The engine shut off and the bloomin' car did a nose-dive for the castle wall-and, as if that wasn't enough, while we were screamin' our heads off the radio flicked back on and started playing Bohemian Rhapsody-" I held up my arms disbelievingly, "I mean, how does that even happen?"

Shaking my head, I blew my fringe out of my eyes and moved on-explaining how Ron swung the steering wheel and, by pure luck, we managed to miss the wall and soar in an arc over the grounds above the greenhouses...all the while Bohemian Rhapsody played through the speakers-we were losing altitude-I tried to tell Ron to aim for the lake so we could jump out, but he'd already started to desperately hit the dashboard and the windshield with his wand to try to make it stop-the ground flew up at us, and-

"No," Daphne said immediately. "No. I refuse to believe that, on top of all of that, you somehow managed to accidentally crash into the Whomping Willow-"

I sheepishly rubbed my neck, heat creeping up my ears.

"Harry says Sprout had to put slings on it-"

"You give jeopardy friendly a whole new meaning-" Malfoy stated, looking at me in complete and utter disbelief.

"And you give self-centred, elitist asshole a whole new meaning," I shot back, "but you don't see me freaking out about it."

"Oi! Don't you two start!" Tracey quickly cut in when Malfoy scowled and made to retort. "Jewel, you promised you'd play nice!"

She turned to me pleadingly.

"That wasn't nice?" I said innocently.

"For you, it might've been," Malfoy snorted snidely.

"Oh piss off, Angelica Pickles."

"I don't know who that is. And you know you're only proving my point, right-?"

"Trying not to implies I'd have to be nice to you and-" I mock shivered, "just thinking about it gives me hives-it also seems like so much work-"

"How can someone who works as hard as you do at Quidditch be so bloody lazy?"

"Work smarter, not harder, dingbat-also, compared to dealing with you, being pelted with Bludgers for hours is a relaxing day at the spa-"

"You're one to talk; you're like if someone gave a Bludger the ability of speech-and it just never shut its big mouth-"

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious."

"-and you just know it bites-"

"I'ma bite somethin' in a minute-"

"Oh my god-shut, UP!" Daphne groaned.

We blinked at her, startled.

"Well, that felt unnecessary," I remarked. "And kinda dramatic."

"No kidding," Malfoy snorted.

Daphne just stared at us for a moment, her eye twitching slightly, before giving up.

"Just-the Whomping Willow-"

Covering her face with one hand, she gestured at me with the other.

"The-? Oh, right-the Whomping Willow-"

I finished going over the collision-during which Ron's wand was almost snapped in half(hence the Spellotape he used to 'repair' it, which feels like an international incident waiting to happen)-the seventies murder tree attacking us-

And then, the car not just magically switching back on, but somehow gaining some kind of sentience-and dumping us out while it was at it.

"-and Hedwig shot out of her cage and accidentally scratched me-well, I think it was an accident, she was pretty pissed-and Illyius's cage hit me in the head, which felt a bit excessive-and then it just drove off-with my favourite red flats, might I add-into the Forbidden Forest-"

"-which is why you were barefoot when you showed up yesterday," Pansy realised.

"And...you know...bleeding-" Daphne added drolly.

"Mmhm," I confirmed, pouting to myself. "I just-I loved those flats-"

"She did love those flats," Tracey agreed, looking sympathetic.

"I hit a sixth year in the face with one of those flats-"

"You did what?"

"What?" I blinked at Daphne innocently. "Anyway-so, we dragged our trunks and shit up to the castle, and we could see the Sorting through the windows, right, and-remember when I said Ron and Harry are idiots?-"

I ran through the boys picking the shovel back up to dig their graves even deeper, Professor Snape showing up, and what happened after.

Malfoy was the one that broke the brief silence that followed.

"-You're an idiot."

"Aw, you say the sweetest things sometimes-"

I put my hand over my heart sarcastically.

"But wait-" Tracey was quick to interject before we could get into it again, "you haven't explained yet-why weren't you getting any of our letters over the break? And how did you and your brother wind up with separate official warnings for using magic in front of Muggles within hours of each other?"

"I heard about that from my father," Malfoy added. "I was going to ask you about it, but then you flew a car to school and I forgot-what'd you do?"

"Why does everyone always automatically assume it was me?" I complained.

"Because you're you?" Daphne wryly suggested.

I pulled an immature face, and she surprised me by making one back.

"Touché-" I conceded, pointing at her. "No, but seriously, for once I can confidently-and honestly-say that I am completely innocent-and that's rare, 'cause usually when I say that I'm never really all that innocent-"

"And you wonder why everyone always automatically assumes it was you-" Pansy snorted.

"It's a total mystery-" Daphne agreed ironically.

"Oh, piss off," I shot back lightly, sticking out my tongue.

"If it wasn't you this time-" Zabini chimed in(the emphasis on this time was not appreciated, nor was his added smirk), "then who was it? Your brother?"

"A house-elf, if you'd believe it."

"'A house-elf?'" Nott echoed.

They all looked taken aback, not having expected me to say that.

"Mmhm-" I hummed with a nod.

Leaving out Dobby's name(and certain other facts for obvious reasons; I just said I'd spent the second half of July and the first day or two of August visiting Granny-and, not knowing she's taking a good ol' dirt nap, let them assume I was talking about my grandmother on my Muggleborn mum's side-but that Harry stayed at the Dursley's-), I gave them a brief overview of what went down, how the house-elf in question didn't want me and Harry to come back to school because it "wasn't safe", and-

"So this house-elf was stealing your mail?" Pansy interrupted incredulously. "Why?"

"He wanted me and Harry to think our friends had forgotten us-" I explained dryly, "he was even stealing our letters to each other-and spying on us, which is a super uncomfortable thought, for the record-"

"But wait, what did it mean, 'Hogwarts isn't safe?'" the brunette continued. "Hogwarts is supposed to be one of the safest places there is-mind you, last year-"

"I don't know," I admitted, eyebrows furrowing. "D-the elf wouldn't tell me. Every time I tried to ask him what exactly it was he was trying to warn me about, or who was behind it, he'd just freak out and start hitting himself-"

"Why would he do that?" Tracey questioned with an air of concern.

"Because of his family-"

Sarcasm, bitterness and spite dripped from my voice.

"His family?"

"Wizard family. I think they have something to do with why he was there-" I wanly replied, messily running a hand through my hair, "either they're directly behind whatever he was so afraid of, they're connected to the person or people that are in some way, or he overheard something he wasn't supposed to...he said he'd have to punish himself," I added darkly, a shadow crossing my face, "for coming to see me-that they made him hurt himself so much that they wouldn't even notice if he casually shut his own ears in the oven-"

"Yeah, but, I mean, it's just a house-elf," Malfoy said, not seeming to see the big deal, "they don't-"

"'-just a house-elf?'" I repeated in disbelief and disgust, temper flaring. "House-elf or not, that's not okay. In fact, it's worse than that because house-elves are innocent, and tiny, and they just want to help and-and I can't believe you just said that."

Malfoy looked taken aback by how upset I obviously was by his offhand remark.

"What's your problem? They're house-elves, Potter. They're servants."

"They're innocent! I don't care if you think they're inferior to you, nobody has the right to treat someone like that. It's abuse, and it's wrong, and I-I just-"

My throat tightened, and my eyes felt hot.

Malfoy's expression faltered.

He didn't seem to know what to say, staring at me with an unreadable look in his grey eyes at my sudden, emotional exclamation.

"Jewel..." Tracey trailed off speechlessly, sharing a look with Daphne and Pansy.

Embarrassed by my reaction, I looked down, blinking quickly.

A pink rubber band was repeatedly snapped.

"You good, Potter?" Daphne asked carefully after a minute, dark eyes boring holes into the top of my head. "I've heard Malfoy insult you, your brother, and your dead parents all in one breath and you didn't even react that strongly-"

"You wanted to know why I got a warning for using magic out of school, yeah?" I said abruptly, looking up with a big, forced smile. "Strawberry jelly."

"Jewel-"

"I know, right? Strawberry jelly and a Hover Charm-" I hummed blithely, "objectively, hilarious. Honestly, I wasn't even mad; exasperated and annoyed? Sure. And the spying wasn't great, but at least I got my mail back-the house-elf left it on my bed in the guest room. Illyius, on the other hand-"

When I just went into more depth on the whole 'Hover Charm/strawberry jelly' incident, talking over the other girl's attempts to get me to acknowledge my outburst, she reluctantly dropped it(but that didn't stop the concerned looks she traded with Pansy and Tracey, and Malfoy was still staring at me with that indecipherable expression-and I'm a telepath, 'deciphering' is literally all I'm good for-).

I covered chasing Dobby downstairs and into the kitchen-the bowl of jelly tipping over Alistair's/a "family friend's" head-the Ministry warning-

"Why didn't you just lie and say you wouldn't come back so it'd leave you alone?" Malfoy interjected obviously.

"In retrospect, that would've been the smarter approach-" I conceded, rubbing the back of my neck sheepishly, "but he was going on about how I needed to be protected and I got all pigheaded and stupid-"

"So, you acted like Potter?" he taunted.

"Oi," I said, throwing a brownie at him.

He just caught it, taking a bite.

"Cheers."

"Bite me."

Malfoy grinned smugly which, weirdly, made me finally relax.

The lingering tension in the air broke, some of the pressure on my chest lifted, and my smile felt a bit more genuine.

Moving on, I went into Harry's side of things.

"I only know about what happened secondhand from Harry Dudley the twins and Ron, but Vernon had some big important work dinner thingy with some bloke and his wife on our birthday so Harry had to stay upstairs-"

"They made him stay upstairs on his own birthday?" Tracey cut in, frowning deeply.

I just pursed my lips, eyes darkening.

"Obviously, the elf showed up, and Harry bullheadedly refused to stay at the Dursley's-because they're assholes and Privet Drive is like an anti-wizard Bermuda Triangle where magic and wonder goes to die-that, or suburban Muggle Azkaban-the Dursleys certainly are soul-sucking-so, of course, the whole thing ended with another Hover Charm and Petunia's pudding covering the windows...walls...Harry-

"The house-elf vanished, so Harry got the blame; Vernon told Mr and Mrs Mason that he was "disturbed" and that they kept him upstairs because "meeting strangers upset's him"-" I scoffed, rolling my eyes, "Wouldn't of been so bad, probably, if the owl from the Ministry didn't turn up-from what Dudley told me, Mrs Mason's deathly afraid of birds-she ran out the house, screaming her head off-Vernon was pissed-especially when he read the letter the Ministry sent Harry and found out that we aren't allowed to use magic outside school, something we'd conveniently forgotten to mention-he copped it for that one-Vernon locked him in his room-and put bars on the windows and fed him through a cat flap he installed on his bedroom door, something Harry also conveniently left out-"

"Your uncle put bars on your brother's window?" Tracey gasped, wide-eyed.

"Don't even get me started-" I held up a hand, scowling darkly.

"What the hell is wrong with your aunt and uncle?" Daphne questioned in disbelief.

"To start with, they hate magic-" I said derisively, eyes going cold, "and anything different, abnormal, or even a little bit interesting-and Petunia has this thing about Lily, my mother, so naturally she hates my guts-you know, 'cause I look so much like her-and Vernon is just a spiteful, blustering bully whose completely intolerant of people who aren't like him-and detests things that aren't 'normal'-Dudley isn't much better, but he puts up with me because I make fun of Harry and give him video game tips, so-"

"Yikes," Daphne mumbled, "and I thought my family was-" she grimaced.

I snorted bitterly.

"Trust me, you have no idea."

Malfoy frowned, watching me closely.

Shaking my head, I forcefully lightened my expression.

"Where was I? Right!" I continued, once again ignoring the silent looks the others were trading, "When we didn't reply to their owls, Freddie Georgie and Ron got worried-so, they took their dad's car and came to 'rescue us'. Long story short, Vernon almost fell out a window trying to hold onto Harry's foot, and we both ended up at the Burrow. Harry thinks the house-elf was sent by someone who didn't want us to come back to Hogwarts-like it was some big joke or something, but I don't think it was."

I furrowed my eyebrows pensively.

"Why not?" Nott was the one to ask.

"Her BS meter is never wrong," Daphne answered dryly before I could.

After that, instead of calling it a night(we'd only just finished off the brownies and popcorn and broken out the marshmallows and toasting forks-honestly, with Crabbe and Goyle among us, I expected everything to go way faster), talk turned from flying cars and house-elves and went in a surprisingly personal direction.

Somehow, bringing up how much the Dursleys suck opened up the conversation to general family dysfunction-and, considering that Daphne hadn't mentioned her at all in all the time we'd known her, Astoria Greengrass.

"-and whenever we try to ask, you change the subject-" Tracey said carefully when Pansy and I brought up how weird she'd been acting.

"And?" Daphne snapped, clearly not liking having the conversation and all of our attention turned around on her. "Look, I'm fine. There's no big mystery, I just don't want to talk about Astoria-so, just, leave it, alright?"

"Oh, yeah, you sound completely fine-" I remarked sarcastically, roasting a marshmallow in the fire behind me, "I don't see why we'd even worry-"

"What does it matter if I talk about Astoria or not?" she stated stiffly, stone-faced. "So I have a sister-who cares? Tracey has a half-brother she's only mentioned in passing and you aren't harassing her."

"I don't talk a lot about him because-" Tracey faltered, looking suddenly conflicted, "family stuff, you know?"

Considering family stuff was still a new concept to me(that came with a lot of baggage attached), I just grimaced and pulled my blanket tighter around me.

"It's just-" Daphne glared down at the carpet, jaw tensing, "we get along, me and Astoria-we do-" it sounded like she was trying to convince herself more than us, "she's my kid sister-but we don't have anything in common, and my mother and father-they've always been so focused on her, especially since-" she cut off. "There's a reason for it," she went on, biting her thumbnail, "and I feel like a total asshole for resenting her and for feeling like I'm being shunted to the side when she's around, but I can't help it-"

"Yeah, I know how that is," Bulstrode grunted resentfully, face twisted into a scowl. "My sister, Pru, is this little angel in my parents' eyes. They're always raving about how 'smart' and 'pretty' and 'perfect' she is-"

Suddenly, Bulstrode's instant dislike of me made a lot of sense. She can't stand me because I remind her of her 'perfect' sister.

-huh, the more you know.

(still not touching that with a fifty-foot broomstick, though-mine and Bulstrode's relationship only works because I actively avoid provoking her and she ignores me for Pansy; if I tried to convince her that she's wrong about me, and have some big heart-to-heart about her sister, it would both a) change nothing and b) set her off and start a whole thing and, honestly, I'd rather just let her keep thinking what she wants about me; I have way too many other issues-attachment, behavioural, insert-foot-in-mouth, abandonment/rejection, and authority to name a few-to care about universal popularity).

"It's not like they love Astoria more than me or anything-" Daphne said, looking frustrated, "it's just-complicated."

"Merlin, you lot are screwed-up," Zabini drawled derisively after a beat. "Luckily, I'm an only child, so I don't have to deal with complicated sibling relationships. Mind you, my mother's been remarried a dozen or so times, and all her ex-husbands are dead, but-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa-back-up-" I held up a hand, staring at him in disbelief, "you're calling us screwed-up when all of your step-dads kicked the bucket?"

"What?" Zabini looked at me blankly.

I opened my mouth only to pretty much instantly snap it shut again, deciding I'd rather not touch that with a fifty-foot broomstick either.

"You want screwed-up and complicated?" Tracey wryly spoke up with a humourless sort of laugh, "Try being a child of divorce. Or my mum. Ignoring Jewel, and all of Zabini's dead step-dads, her family is-wow."

"I'd almost be insulted if it wasn't true-" I muttered with a snort, pulling a blackened marshmallow off my toasting fork.

"What do you mean?" Pansy asked.

Tracey pulled her knees to her chest, hugging them.

"For starters, mum got pregnant in her seventh year," she confessed. "She was eighteen when she had me. The second she graduated, her parents forced her to marry my dad. My grandparents on both sides have very strong ideals and opinions on that stuff. Dad's a half-blood, like me, but his family are just as bad with all that Pureblood stuff as my mum's-she came from a Pureblood family-not one of the older ones like you lot, mind you, but they're still very...Pureblood-minded, not to mention traditional and strict. Mum didn't have a choice; they would've disowned her, or forced her to abort me to protect their family reputation. I don't even know if my parents were ever in love, but they were together. And it was alright, for a while, but raising a kid is hard, and they were still only kids themselves.

"They split when I was four. Mum had a huge blow-up with my grandparents around then, too-a lot of nasty things were said, and they ended up disowning her to "teach her a lesson". But, instead, she got a job at the Ministry to support us, and she changed. The thing is, they always expected her to come crawling back. They never considered that, maybe, she never would. She started to move away from the whole Pureblood doctrine she grew up with, and to see the world differently now that she was part of it.

"I guess she just didn't think it all mattered as much as they always told her it did, or as much as she used to when she was my age. Makes things really tense with dad. He pays child support, and comes by on alternative weekends, but they're always fighting-he doesn't exactly approve of Scott, the guy mum's seeing, raising me-and their views have changed so much that they clash, bad. He wants me to come live with him, and he's been pushing for custody, but Scott's a lawyer-he's studied up on wizard law, and he's pretty protective of me and mum. Dad just uses Kai as an excuse; he keeps saying how we should be raised together under the same roof, and how he could provide for me better-

"Mum works on Level Two in the Improper Use of Magic Office-she has done since I was a kid, and she likes it there-it's how she met Scott-but she's vocal enough about her views that she doesn't get as many promotions as she thinks she deserves. She says it's something about Cornelius Fudge, the Minister for Magic; how he thinks she lacks "proper wizarding pride", whatever that means. It has a lot to do with how her opinion on Muggles has changed, but it's mostly because of Scott-"

The Irish girl hesitated, before adding, "it's a testament to how much she's changed that she's with him, what with him being a Muggle and all."

"Your mum's dating a Muggle?" I said, surprised.

Glancing at the others self-consciously, she nodded.

"He's a good bloke-" she said quickly, "better than my dad and some of the other jerks she's dated. Being a Slytherin though, I thought it was best not to advertise it-"

"Well, personally, I think it's great-" I pointedly commented when I saw some of the other's faces(despite her own ultra Pureblood upbringing, aside from me, Daphne was the only one who didn't seem to think it was a big deal-mostly because it was Tracey we were talking about, and because I suspected that she already knew about Scott and his non-magic status; aside from me, everyone here was subjected to super Pureblood beliefs and ideals their entire lives-something I try to remind myself of whenever they parrot some of the shit they'd grown up being told-), "in fact, it's so great that if someone were to make a nasty remark about it right about now I'd just have to-well-"

Tilting my head, I smiled brightly, letting my unspoken threat linger in the air.

Tracey looked startled.

"This is a no judgement zone-" I added more seriously, gesturing in a circular motion around the wonky oval?-ish circle we made up, "so, you know, don't be a dick."

"Why are you looking at me?" Malfoy complained, slightly affronted.

"You know why."

I narrowed my eyes, and he rolled his hugely.

The corner of my mouth twitched up into a faint smirk.

Tracey sent me a small grateful smile.

Before I could, I dunno, smash my mug and shiv Malfoy with the handle or something(I'm not even joking, that was a genuine concern of Daphne's-and they say I'm overdramatic-), there was a collective wordless decision to "not be dicks" and hastily move things along for self-preservations sake(all of them knowing better than to start shit about Tracey and her family with me and Daphne staring everyone down, daring them to try it-even Pansy bit her tongue, which is saying a lot because it's Pansy-).

Unexpectedly, Nott went next, explaining how his parents were older when they had him and how his mum died and it was just him and his dad. He didn't say much, and was kind of withdrawn and kept to himself overall, but it was obvious there was a lot of baggage there(I didn't need to be a telepath to sense that).

Crabbe and Goyle even talked about their parents and how, like Malfoy, they're only children from prestigious Pureblood families.

They'd even all known each other since before Hogwarts-which, surprisingly, was the case for Nott and Malfoy, too(most of the kids from super Pureblood families were raised in the same circles for obvious reasons).

After that, it was Pansy's turn.

(I guess after I talked about Petunia and Vernon's stellar parenting style, and Daphne opened up a bit about Astoria and Tracey her own family, everyone else felt kind of obligated to do the same-like matching dysfunction with dysfunction-and it turned into its own thing...with the unspoken vow that none of this left this oval-ish circle-).

Pansy's dad works in the Ministry's Department of International Magical Co-operation under a man named Bartemius Crouch, and her mum's a total prima donna(and is an 'actress' which, in a society without television, means she does a lot of plays/theatre). She doesn't have any siblings, which meant she was as spoiled as Malfoy...and, also like Malfoy, her parents have pretty high expectations.

The pressure can be a lot sometimes.

"They're never around, either-" she went on, "and it's like they never listen, you know? They care a lot about how people see us, and it's like they're either ignoring me so they can focus on more important things, buying me stuff so I'll go away, or lecturing me about how my behaviour reflected on them and putting all this pressure on me, and there's no real middle ground. And-you know what, I'll just say it; my mother is a bitch."

"Hey, so's my aunt! And my uncle. We should make club t-shirts-" I joked, raising my empty mug in mock cheers.

We shared wry grins.

Much to my surprise-what with how he looks up to him, Malfoy admitted that his father's the same way(as in, he has really high expectations, not that he's a bitch-but, you know-). He wasn't exactly happy that a Muggleborn girl *Hermione* bet him out on every exam and had been on him about picking up his grades.

The blonde glanced at me, almost embarrassed-and, realising he was expecting me to make fun of him or something-

"I don't know what your dad's on about," I remarked instead, taking him off guard. "I saw your scores, and you did better than me-"

"I did?" he said, blinking.

"Jewel even has course counselling with Snape," Pansy threw in, smirking. "I saw it on her schedule earlier-"

"That's a thing?" Daphne arched an eyebrow.

"It is now."

"Snape had to start course counselling because of Potter?" Malfoy snorted a laugh, looking highly entertained by the idea.

"Oi, watch it-" I retorted, blushing faintly(despite knowing the real reason behind my 'course counselling'), "I've got a toasting fork, and I'm not afraid to use it-"

Malfoy just grinned at me, not seeming the least bit concerned.

-tch, let's see him keep smiling at the bottom of Black Lake.

"But aren't you insanely smart?" Zabini cut in.

"Have you seen her in class?" Pansy countered.

"Fair enough," he shrugged.

"Hey!" I complained, grabbing another handful of marshmallows and spearing them, "it's not like I do it on purpose...entirely. I just, I have attention issues and I'm really restless and have trouble finishing stuff I'm not interested in, which I can't help. It's one of the reasons I pace the common room sometimes when I'm reading-and read more than one book at a time, which is fine when it's class textbooks but can get confusing with fiction stuff. I was even almost diagnosed with ADHD or a learning disorder when I was a kid, my fo-Vernon and Petunia had me tested, several times-and I struggle a lot when it comes to taking tests-and homework, but that's unrelated...I just can't-think in a classroom setting-"

When I glanced at him pointedly and subtly tapped my temple, Malfoy's eyes widened slightly with new understanding.

I smiled wryly.

"I did better on the exams than I was expecting, but Professor Snape felt that I could've done a lot better-and he's right. I absorb random facts like a sponge, and I always pick things up easier when I'm genuinely interested in them and I love learning about magic, but when I sit down for a test my brain gets scrambled and I can't think straight. I was even meant to be held back at Muggle school before I got my Hogwarts letter and came here instead-I was averaging D's which, in wizard grading, would be...well, D's; that, or P's. I have coping mechanisms, and I've gotten better at focusing, but it isn't...it's...hard for me-and I'm a relentless class clown with raging authority issues, we know this, but that's a whole other issue. Seriously, the only reason I did as well as I did on the exams is because of Hermione-if it wasn't for her, I would've failed-or, god forbid, been bet out by Harry and Ron-"

The very idea made me shiver, face twisting into a grimace.

"Didn't you and Granger sit by each other in all of our exams?" Malfoy remarked under his breath once the others were distracted.

"I have no idea what you're trying to imply-" I hummed innocently, popping a deliciously burnt marshmallow into my mouth.

"Sure you don't," he drawled, smirking.

If anything, he looked approving and impressed(especially after realising how much of a handicap my telepathy could be).

"If we're going around being honest about things..." Tracey suddenly said, steeling herself-before, to my taken aback, turning to me, "Jewel, you ditching us for your brother and Weasley and Granger at breakfast when we haven't seen each other, or even really been in contact at all, since before the break kinda-sucked. And you do it all the time. It's like as soon as you see them, you just-drop us. Like we're your second choice. And none of us ever say anything-mostly because you're mad and having them babysit you for an hour or two a day keeps us sane-but I know it bugs Pansy and Daphne too-"

"I didn't-that's not-" I opened and shut my mouth. "I didn't mean to make you feel like that," I swore, running my fingers through my hair, "I just-"

"And don't just crack a joke and act like everything's fine-" she added pleadingly, "just-for two seconds, can you just be serious?"

I held up my finger in a flash.

"Say a word, dingbat, and I'll have Tracey and Daphne hold you down while I take this toasting fork and shove it-"

Malfoy's mouth snapped shut.

"Good choice."

Once I was satisfied that Malfoy wasn't going to make a snarky comment about my inability to "be serious", I took a moment to articulate my thoughts, absentmindedly twisting my rubber bands and worrying my bottom lip.

"You guys are not my second choice," I told her firmly, looking up finally. "But we have all our classes together, and we share a common room-and a dorm. I only really get to see Harry Ron and Hermione-and the twins, Lee, Neville, and the rest of my Gryffindor friends-during meals, between classes, on weekends, or in Potions. We see each other all day, every day. And after last year, I just-I need to check in regularly, you know? Not just because Harry's my brother,but because...Shit-"

I rubbed my face.

"You wanted me to be serious? Alright, here you go. I love their stupid faces, but they can be a lot of work, okay? Sometimes, I feel like the comic relief-and other times, I'm the advocate for self-preservation/street-smart big sister. And I guess last year kinda put me in protective mode? I mean, can you blame me?

"And they're my friends, and Harry's my twin, and we're super close, so of course I want to hang out with them-but that doesn't mean that I'm dropping you guys every time I go over to see them or that I like them more.

"Honestly, whenever I'm with them, or over at Gryffindor table, I always feel a bit self-conscious and judged because I'm a Slytherin-which is so stupid because it's just a bloomin' school house, and the other three houses are going on about how all the Dark witches and wizards in bloody history came from here, which is complete bullshit. I researched it. Merlin was an effing Slytherin. Merlin. The Merlin. Most famous wizard of all time, part of the Court of King Arthur-and, side note, the fact that he and all of this is real? Amazing, love it-and he was in the 'oh so evil' Slytherin house. So, you know, suck it.

"And I know the only reason no one says anything is because I'm famous Jewel Potter, which is-yeah. Sometimes, I feel like if it wasn't for Harry and this stupid scar, none of them would even want to know me. That...that none of you would want to know me. How's that for being 'honest and serious'?"

"Jewel..." Tracey's mouth opened and closed a few times, "why...Of course, we'd want to know you-why would you even think-?"

"You are kidding, right?" I scoffed humourlessly. "If I wasn't famous, we'd be at war-" I wove between me and Pansy, surprising the brunette, "our personalities would've clashed even worse than mine and Malfoy's if we didn't stop to get to know each other at the start-and Trace, you would've been pressured onto Pansy's side-and Daphne...okay, we'd still get along-our humour gels amazingly, and you wouldn't of really given a damn about mine and Pansy's feud-but it'd still be different. Zabini wouldn't give me the time of day-and, ironically, Bulstrode would probably hate me a little bit less.

"The only people here that I can see being semi-normal are Nott and Malfoy-Nott because he doesn't really seem all that interested in all the Girl Who Lived BS, and Malfoy because we got into it the day we met, and he didn't know who I was, and nothing's changed; he'd just have fewer reasons to be jealous of my awesome, gorgeous, funny self-" the blonde looked at me, like, 'seriously?' and, despite the situation, I shot him a wink, "and probably wouldn't hate Harry as much. Oh, and Harry would've been expelled faster than you can say 'Snape's trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone'."

"And, and look-" I roughly ran my fingers through my hair, sobering and staring hard at the fascinating carpet, "I know I can be headstrong-and stubborn-and cynical-and 'fiery'-and argumentative-and chaotic-and brash-and kinda obnoxious-and a total smartass-and the definition of 'too much'-and a billion and one other ands, but...I didn't have much of a childhood, okay?

"I never got to just be a kid, which is so bloody ironic because that's literally why Dumbledore sent Harry and me to the Muggles in the first place, so now that I can I guess I sometimes-overcompensate. I can't seem to strike that balance, and it, it sucks when all my so-called friends turn around and say that I'm weird and insaneand that they need 'breaks' from me-or that they can only take me in 'small doses'-"

"God," Tracey said, sounding aghast, "no, no, no-Jewel, I didn't-none of us ever meant it like that-"

I glanced up to see her staring at me with a horrified and guilty expression.

Daphne and Pansy weren't much better.

Even Malfoy and the others-Bulstrode included-had gone quiet, and Malfoy had that unreadable look on his face again.

"When we said that, we were just-it was a joke," Pansy mumbled.

"I know," I sighed, huddling deeper into my blankets. "Still kinda sucked, though."

"You never said," Tracey stammered.

"I never said, 'cause I knew what you meant," I explained wearily. "I wasn't gonna get all bent out of shape over a stupid joke. My whole personality is made up of stupid jokes. Stupid jokes, sarcasm, blunt remarks, song lyrics, nerdy quotes, useless facts, and swears.I'm not trying to make you guys feel bad, I'm just saying-I know I can be difficult, and a total mess, and better in small doses, so if I wasn't...the Girl Who Lived-" there was a trace of wry bitterness in my voice, "a lot of people wouldn't put up with me."

"Just-stop, okay?" Daphne snapped with a tense look on her face. "We all know that's not true. Lots of people-"

"Yeah, well, experience says otherwise," I scoffed sharply without meaning to, chest feeling tight.

No one seemed to know what to say to that.

Before the heavy feeling in the air could get any worse, I abruptly clapped my hands together, forcing a more lighthearted expression.

"Okay, so this whole conversation got-way more personal than I think any of us intended, so I vote we lighten things up. If we're gonna talk about our screwed-up home lives, it may as well be through hilarious, embarrassing anecdotes. I'll start; when I was eight, a mate of mine got me drunk. Who's next?"

"You got drunk at eight?" Malfoy repeated incredulously.

"There is absolutely no way-you've got to be joking-" Pansy insisted.

-knew that'd do the trick.

I just grinned, tongue poking out from between my teeth.

"No," Pansy breathed, shocked.

"Oh, yes," I sang, still grinning devilishly.

"You've been drunk?" Tracey sputtered, staring at me in disbelief.

"That could explain some things-" Daphne remarked.

I flipped her off, and she smirked wryly.

"Which 'mate' was this?" Malfoy questioned sarcastically.

"He wasn't so much a mate as a-distant relative-" in other words, he was one of my many old foster brothers, one of the rare ones that I didn't scare away with my 'freakiness', and the one that taught me to pick locks-Kol was good people, "he was fifteen, almost sixteen, at the time but looked older. Anyway, he got his hands on a pack of beer using his fake ID and offered me a sip. It was horrible. I hated it. Most disgusting thing I'd ever tried. So, naturally, he dared me to down an entire bottle. When I woke up the next morning, I thought I was dying. I also threw up out the window."

I tugged on my hair sheepishly, musing, "The neighbour's cat was never the same," before adding, "But, on the upside, I said I had a stomach bug and got the rest of the week off school-I just laid in bed playing video games-it was awesome-"

When I looked up, I found them all staring at me, dumbfounded.

"What? I ran with a bad crowd," I joked.

"You are a bad crowd," Daphne deadpanned.

I stuck out my tongue, grinning roguishly.

Then, from my right-

"Seriously, Potter-what the hell is it with you and cats?"

---

- I know Astoria doesn't start Hogwarts until PoA (which I did not realise when I wrote this; for some reason, I always thought she was in Ginny's year), but she won't be part of the story anyway (beyond being "Daphne's little sister" and maybe a vague mention here and there) so I figure it's probably fine; I'll just say that Daphne was born late in the year like Hermione and is already 13/turning 13 so they still roughly have the same age gap and call it a day. XD

Reviews/Replies*̥˚✧!

Solti: I think you mean the Lydia incident, which is not actually what it sounds like (but also exactly what it sounds like?)-and will be explained at some point in Act 2. It ties a lot into how Jewel will react to the Heir of Slytherin stuff. Yeah, to Harry and Ron, Snape is this big, menacing, skulking figure so it would've been weird seeing him a bit humanised through his mini interaction with Jewel.

Hollypop2014: Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! And thanks for my digital cookie! XD When it comes to someone with Jewel's hang-ups/trauma who is so slow to get attached to people and open up (and legit has rejection/abandonment issues), love at first sight isn't an option. And Draco has had a crush on her since at least her first Quidditch match (it wasn't love at first sight for him either, he just thought she was pretty, got frustrated/annoyed when she insulted him and seemed to hate him...came to terms with liking how she acted around him because it was so different from what he was used to, and then Quidditch-), but he isn't the most open person either. I also don't want anything to really happen before third/fourth year because they're still just kids, and Jewel needs to work through a lot of stuff before she gets to the point of being in a serious relationship with someone. They also need to get to a point where he's more open-minded about her point of view, because she won't compromise that for anything or stand for his Pureblood mentality (though she tries to be understanding with her Slytherin friends while pointing out how dumb everything is), and where she's more comfortable with trusting him and being open with her feelings-because communication, compromise, trust, and understanding are super important parts of a healthy relationship. Plus, she stubbornly refuses to admit she doesn't hate him; he represents everything she hated growing up so coming to terms with liking him, even as a friend, is a lot. I also like the idea of Draco having to really work for something he wants.

Leofrick: Harry and Ron tend to get ahead of themselves and not always think things through, but they're twelve-year-old boys, so. And I do imagine that Gryffindor house has its own set of prejudices, especially towards Slytherins (there is some definite hypocrisy there); I mean, we only meet a handful through the whole series, and everyone so narrow-mindedly thinks that no Slytherin could possibly be "not evil". It isn't the house of all evil. It's the house of ambition and people willing to do whatever it takes to go after what they want; not inherently bad things. Honestly, a lot of Slytherins like Snape probably went "evil" because of how they were treated by the wider school (you really get the feeling that they're kind of separate from the other houses); at the core of things, Snape fell in with Lucius Malfoy and the Death Eaters because he wanted to fit in/belong (and was horribly bullied by the Marauders for "existing"). I read this post once where someone said it's like a self-fulling prophecy; treat Slytherins like they're evil, and they'll turn around and prove you right. I just feel bad for the first years.

As for the Weasleys, having every single one of them in Gryffindor, whether they arguably belong there or not (there's debate over Percy especially, but I can see how he could be a Gryffindor-but, also, somewhere between Ravenclaw/Slytherin), would be a lot of pressure. And you see how Mrs Weasley kind of has her favourites/pays more attention to certain kids over others, even if it isn't intentional-which sprouts so much insecurity in Ron (and Harry always gets priority in their house-there's this one meme where Mrs Weasley is helping Harry swim, Ron is drowning, and Percy is a skeleton at the bottom of the pool-and, while you know it's because of the Dursley's and all, it's not always easy to look at it that rationally when you're a kid and you feel ignored/overlooked). And they're only eleven, and that's a lot to put on any eleven-year-old; even if Mr and Mrs Weasley end up not minding them not being in Gryffindor. Slytherin's another story. I mean, look at Harry; he would've been a Slytherin if Hagrid and Ron hadn't put the fear of god into him-'Slytherins are evil! Voldemort was a Slytherin!' I doubt Ron will ever be totally open to Slytherin house because of Draco&co., but he honestly doesn't care that Jewel's a Slytherin anymore; he's just an idiot sometimes-but who isn't, really?

Notwritten: thanks! You too! :)

Happydragon5: I'm happy you're enjoying my story, and Jewel as a character! :) It can be hard tackling an OC with neurodivergent issues in a way that doesn't play into stereotypes/is a good kind of representation so I'm glad that you like it (and if there's any issues, as someone with ADHD, just let me know; I'm very open to criticism and will happily change anything that comes across as unintentionally problematic). I just wanted to make an OC who has ADHD/etc and is a total badass-like how the half-bloods in Percy Jackson have ADHD and dyslexia but kick total ass. I love writing Jewel and Draco; I want them to have a fun relationship while also sort of challenging/pushing each other in a healthy way that ultimately helps them grow as people. And I can't wait until Remus comes into the picture properly in third year (I'm kinda considering making Snape get jealous, in a funny way). I'll try to get chapters out as quick as possible, but I'm actually editing/uploading this from Quotev/Wattpad so I'll slow down a bit once I've caught up. Halloween is all completely written and ready to go though, just needs editing.

Ellie. Cast4: After Draco pointed out her telepathy, Jewel spent two weeks imagining what she'd say and how he'd react (which was always pretty negatively; she's a cynic at heart) and having mental arguments and building it up until she just kind of punched herself out. And how casually he was acting took her off guard because it was so different from what she was used to growing up when she'd "blurt things out" or use accidental magic and be sent away by numerous foster homes. It was definitely a huge relief for her, like it was when she found out Snape was like her and she wasn't alone. Never mind being able to talk so openly about something she'd kept such a tight lid on out of fear of being rejected/shunned like it was normal, even if it's with someone she least expected. Draco has, on some level, been aware he's in trouble ever since Jewel hit that Bludger away from Flint, but you'd imagine even that would've been kinda superficial at first until he got to know her more and he just got closer and closer to the point of no return. The thing is, Harry Ron and Hermione-Harry especially-see Jewel as this sarcastic/bubbly, unflappable, untouchable badass/whirlwind who swoops in, saves the day, and always seems to have everything handled. Sometimes, they forget she's a person with real problems/issues because she so rarely opens up about that. The only time Harry's seen her cry is Christmas of first year and after she left him behind with Quirrell/Voldemort in the Forbidden Forest and was scared for his life. Draco sees her as a girl who's a total mess, who needs someone to talk to but is too stubborn to say so, and who is a literal Quidditch goddess (the last part is unrelated, but totally true).

Kukuhimanpr: Oh, yeah, 100%. At first, Jewel was preoccupied with how stupid they were being-but flying a car to Hogwarts? As a career troublemaker, she was happy to go along with it. As a Slytherin, she needed to cover her own ass first-and get revenge against Harry and Ron for ignoring her and being idiots. The flying car is for sure one of the best deus ex machina in the series. The time-turners and liquid luck left too many plot holes, and were conveniently forgotten by Death Eaters Voldemort Dumbledore and the Order alike. If I was Voldemort, I'd of been downing a bit of liquid luck before all of my confrontations with Harry, if only to give myself an edge.