Chapter 12: Christmas Tears
A/N This is the chapter you have all almost been waiting for. That's all I will say for now. Enjoy my wonderful readers.
Disclaimer: I don't own the Harry Potter characters or anything Harry Potter related. I do own the OC Jasmine and the plot of this story.
Before any of them knew it, it was the last week of classes. The term finished without incident really. Nothing big really happened.
The term finished, and the Marauders plus Lily were in the carriages heading toward the train that would take them back to Platform 9 ¾. The plan for the train was that since Lily still didn't like James or Sirius very much, she would just come and find them when they were almost at the station. Otherwise, Jasmine would be sitting with the Marauders for the whole train ride. It would be a new thing for them. Once they got to the train station and said their goodbyes, James and Sirius would lead the girls to wherever Mr. and Mrs. Potter were waiting for them. From there, James told them they would probably take the Knight Bus or something to Potter Manor. Side-along apparation wouldn't be the best with so many of them.
The train ride was very uneventful. The boys and Jaz just discussed random stuff. They even talked about some pranks they might pull after they come back. Lily did come and join them when they were about 5 minutes from the station. She took a seat next to her cousin and ignored the other people in the compartment. She could tolerate them, but that didn't mean that she had to acknowledge them.
Soon enough, Jasmine, Lily, James, and Sirius had arrived outside of Potter Manor. Unlike the Potters and Sirius, the girls were not unfazed by Potter Manor. Lily and Jasmine were standing right out front frozen as the others forged ahead. They hadn't noticed that the girls weren't with them until they got to the door. James went to say something to them but noticed that they weren't with them anymore. He turned around and saw that they were frozen, gaping at the manor. They were amazed at the size of the place. It was huge.
James rolled his eyes before telling his parents, "Go on in. Sirius and I will grab them." His parents nodded and went in. James turned to his best friend/honorary brother with a smirk on his face. Sirius knew that smirk meant James had a plan. "Come on Pads, let's go scare them." And Sirius was right. Of course, he didn't necessarily agree with the plan, but it would be funny, so why not.
The boys sneaked up around the still frozen girls. Then in unison jumped on them (James on Lily and Sirius on Jaz) and yelled, "Boo!" The girls immediately became unfrozen and screamed. The boys successfully scared them. This is why they were currently laughing after getting off of the girls. The laughing stopped when the girls got their bearings back and started hitting them. All that could be heard now was "Ouch!"
Once the girls felt like the boys had suffered enough, they grabbed their bags that they had dropped and headed inside. The boys followed soon after them. Inside the manor, the girls almost froze in shock again. The whole house, inside and out, was decorated for Christmas. There were a lot of Christmas decorations, probably more than Jasmine had ever seen in her life, and her favorite holiday was Christmas. It was like a winter wonderland of sorts inside Potter Manor. And Jasmine couldn't help but look around with glee written all over her face. This is the kind of Christmas she had dreamed of. Last year's Christmas with Lily was great, but Jasmine had a feeling that this Christmas would be magical. Plus, Jasmine was so excited to be able to spend Christmas with her best friends James and Sirius, as well as her cousin.
While Jasmine was admiring the Christmas decorations, Sirius couldn't help but admire Jasmine. He loved seeing her so happy. The look of pure glee on her face made a smile creep itself onto his own face. The smile didn't go unnoticed by James who nudged Sirius. Instead of acknowledging James, though, Sirius just ignored him and continued to watch Jasmine.
Surprisingly, Lily also happened to see the smile on Sirius's face. She wasn't sure what he was smiling about until she followed his gaze to see that Sirius was watching her cousin. It was in that moment that Lily realized that Sirius fancies her cousin. Lily wasn't entirely sure if he felt the same way until now. She had suspected that he had, but she didn't really have any concrete proof. Her main reason for working with James Potter to set Jasmine and Sirius up was to show her cousin that a relationship with Sirius would work. She isn't really sure if that actually happened or not, though. Lily hopes that it will.
Before Lily can think about the subject anymore, Jasmine calls out to her. "Lils! Isn't this place just bursting with Christmas? Can't you just feel the Christmas Spirit?" Lily nods her head.
Jasmine, who had been across the room, heads over to her cousin. Then whispers to her, "I just have a feeling that something amazing is going to happen this Christmas. I mean I haven't felt this much joy leading up to Christmas since before my dad died."
Lily gives her cousin a solemn look. She can't help but feel bad for her cousin. Lily really wishes that she could have been for her cousin during those Christmases after her dad, Lily's uncle, died. It was something Lily had learned to accept over the past year since Jasmine had come to live with her family. Though it was especially hard when Lily found her cousin crying or on the verge of tears. Lily wasn't as affected by Petunia's words as she used to be, but a few times she has been on the verge of tears. But really ever since that day that Sirius found her, Lily hasn't really cried much over what Petunia has said to her. Although that doesn't mean that her sister's words didn't hurt. Lily still wished that her sister still saw her as she did before the whole witch thing happened.
Lily was strong though, and in Jasmine's opinion, much stronger than she was. Jasmine tried not to let Petunia's words get to her, but several times when Petunia called her a freak, it would only remind Jasmine of what her mother used to tell her. Those memories would immediately bring tears to her eyes. Jasmine knows that it wasn't her fault that her mother died, but sometimes she can't help but take some of the blame. Jaz knew she should have told someone and then maybe her mother wouldn't be dead.
Lily was the only one that could help Jasmine when she got so upset over Petunia's words since she was the only one who actually knew the whole story. Jasmine would have told the Marauders the whole story, but she didn't want their pity or the possibility of being made fun of. She didn't entirely think that they would make fun of her, but she didn't want to take any chances with their friendship, especially her friendship with Sirius. It was even more important now that Sirius never found out. She didn't think she could bear the look of pity she believed would be on his face, especially since she finally realized how she felt about him. It was a terrible predicament that Jasmine was in.
Soon, though, James's mother came to greet the girls. "Welcome to Potter Manor, girls. I am so happy to have some other females in the house for once. Boys can be a bit much sometimes." The girl giggled at Mrs. Potter's comment. "Let me show you two to your rooms. I think the boys would be more than happy to carry your bags for you both." The cousins grinned before turning to the boys. They threw their bags at them. Luckily, they both managed to catch both bags. James caught Lily's bag and Sirius caught Jasmine's bag. Then they all headed up to the bedrooms, which were on the second floor.
The girls were a bit sad at first to find out that they weren't going to be sharing bedrooms, but that quickly disappeared when they found out that Jasmine got the room next to Sirius's room. When they were told this, Lily gave Jaz a knowing look, while Jasmine started to turn red.
After they were shown their rooms, the two girls went their separate ways to put their stuff away in their rooms for the time being. While Jasmine was busy hanging her clothes and Sirius was doing who knows what in his room, Lily snuck off to James's room. He had some explaining to do. Plus, Lily came up with an idea earlier, and she would begrudgingly need his help.
Lily knocked on James's door. When he opened the door, Lily pushed her way through. The room was much cleaner than she thought it would be. There were quidditch posters hung up on the wall, which she did expect to find. Other than that, James's room was a typical male's room.
Before James could speak up, Lily got straight to the point. "So, Sirius fancies my cousin."
James was at a loss for words. He couldn't confirm that without betraying his honorary brother's trust, and he would never do that. But this was Lily, and she probably already knows since she wasn't really asking.
Again, James didn't get the chance to answer Lily. "I'm not asking. I know he likes Mina. I had my suspicions, but the way he was looking at her earlier confirmed it for me." James just nodded not knowing what else to do or say. "Now I'm telling you this in confidence, Potter, so you better not tell Black. If you do, I will hunt you down. Got it?" James nodded his head vigorously. "Good. So, Mina fancies Sirius as well, which is why I have come to you, although I wish I didn't."
"Woah, woah, woah." James had to stop her before she continued. "So, you're telling me that Jazzy fancies Sirius back? That is amazing. We need to get them together. I told Sirius that they would be great together. He just won't take a chance because…" James stops himself before he gives away his best friend's secret.
Lily already knows what James was going to say, so she tells him, "Potter, don't worry. I already know about Black's home life."
That shocks James. "Wh-wha-what?!" James stutters. He gathers his bearings before he starts his question again. "What do you mean you know? How could you possibly know? He doesn't tell just anyone."
Lily hesitates. She doesn't want to break the promise that she and Sirius made, but she felt obligated to tell James. He already knew about Petunia anyway, so she might as well just tell him. "Well, he found me crying in the owlery one day in 4th year. I had gotten a letter from Petunia. It was a pretty awful letter. He comforted me instead of laughing at me. He listened to me and then to make me feel better he told me about the letters his parents had been sending him. He had been about to tell me about the abuse, but he trailed off. I figured that part out on my own. He didn't tell you because we promised not to tell anyone about the incident."
James was completely shocked and a bit mad at his best friend, but he understood why Sirius hadn't told him. He wasn't about to break a promise with Lily. That girl can be really scary. Thus, James was more shocked than anything. He couldn't believe that Sirius had almost told Lily about the abuse before Sirius had told him. It infuriated him, but he could understand why Sirius did it. After pushing his feelings to the side, for the moment, James finally said something. "Wow, just wow. I can't believe it. You know you guys do have similarities in your home lives. I think you guys could actually be good friends."
Before James could continue, Lily interrupted. "Yes, yes. I know. We could be great friends. Anyway, there is a reason I came to you, Potter. I want your help to get them together over the break. Besides making a great couple, they need each other in a way that I can't tell you."
"What? Why can't you tell me?" James was getting more confused as this conversation continued.
"It's not my place to say. And don't you dare ask Mina about it. She will tell you when she is ready." Then to herself, Lily mumbled, "I hope."
"Okay! Fine. I promise I won't ask Jazzy, Lily-Pad. Whatever Jazzy has been through, I hope that I will be able to understand later."
"You probably will. Well, after she confesses to Sirius. It's the only way she would be willing to have a relationship with him. So, if we get them to confess what they have been holding back from each other, I am sure that everything else will naturally fall after."
James started at the redhead in front of him. "Lily Evans! I didn't know you could be so devious. I have some ideas."
For the rest of the night, Lily and James worked on several plans to get the couple together. They would try to implement these plans throughout the week. It isn't until a few days before Christmas that they finally have some kind of success, but not with one of their plans.
Jasmine and Lily were settling in nicely at the Potters. Jasmine was actually a bit surprised to see that Lily was actually getting along with the boys. Actually, Jasmine saw her willingly hanging out with James, which Jaz found strange, but she was glad they were getting along. Jasmine was actually glad that Lily was getting to know him. This might mean that James might actually get his chance with Lily, but who knows.
It was now a few days before Christmas. The day started out like all the other days of their break so far. It wasn't until an owl happened to show up with a letter for the girl that everything went to hell. The boys had been out back playing quidditch or something when the letter came. It was addressed to both Lily and Jasmine. They had originally thought it was a letter from Lily's parents. Boy were they wrong. It was a letter from Petunia. In the letter were some awful things. These were things Lily had heard before and so had Jasmine, but when Lily looked over at her cousin, she could see the tears forming in her eyes. Before Lily got the chance to say anything, Jaz was gone. Lily knew she had gone to her room when she heard a door slam shut.
Lily was about to head up to the room, but then she had a brilliant thought. "What if Sirius comforted her instead of me? This is the perfect opportunity for everything to come out."
First, Lily went to check on her cousin. She wanted to make sure that she was in her room before she went and got the boys. Lily could hear her crying in the room, but when she tried the handle, she found it locked. That was something that Lily was concerned about. Jasmine never locked her out, but Lily assumed it was just locked because she didn't want either of the boys to come in. Lily would have to let Sirius know that the door is locked then.
After leaving her cousin to cry, Lily ran to find the boys. And boy did she find them. Lily actually happened to run right into James as he was entering the house with Sirius.
"Woah, Lily-Pad, what's the emergency?" James jokingly asked the girl.
"Thank god! Boys, something happened while you were out." The shift from a joking manner to a concerned one was clear. Lily now had their full attention. "Well, an owl came with a letter for Mina and me. At first, we thought it was from my parents or something, but it wasn't. It was a letter from my sister. I'm not sure how it got here, but there were some really nasty things that she said in the letter."
It seemed that just now the boys had noticed that Jasmine was not with Lily, so before Lily could say anymore, Sirius asked, "Where is Mare?" Lily gave him a confused look, so he amended what he said. "Jaz. Where is Jasmine?"
"I was just getting to that. After we read the letter, I turned to her and saw tears forming in her eyes. She is upstairs in her room crying. Tunnie's words really hurt her, more so than they do me. I've just heard them all before now that it doesn't affect me. Though, this time It is worse than usual."
The worry in both boys was very clear. Sirius was the one to speak up, though. "What?! Why is it worse than usual?"
"Well, usually Mina will let me into the room or come straight to me for comfort. This time she locked the door and didn't let me in. I'm really worried about her."
"What can we do to help?" James questioned Lily as he pulled her into a side hug to comfort her. It was at this moment that Lily whispered the plan to James.
Once Lily was sure that James understood the plan, Lily answered him. "Maybe she will open up for one of you two?"
Sirius, of course, was the first to volunteer. "I'll do it. I'm not really good with the whole comforting thing though, so I'm not sure how much I can do to make her feel better, Evans."
"Just do what you did to comfort me that time in 4th year. You did a great job then," Lily advised.
Before Sirius could think more about the fact that she just "revealed" their secret to James, Lily pushed him in the direction of the stairs, which Sirius started climbing. It wasn't until he got to Jasmine's room that it finally dawned on him what Lily had done. He would have to deal with it later, though. Right now, his focus was on Jasmine. He knocked on the door and waited for an answer.
Meanwhile, James and Lily were still downstairs in the sitting (living) room. James asked Lily, "Why would a letter from your sister upset Jazzy so much?"
Lily hesitated before telling him. "Well, I guess by the end of the night you will probably know anyway because I don't think Mina will be able to keep it a secret for much longer after she tells Sirius." Lily thought about how she wanted to phrase this. "Okay, I really hope Mina won't kill me for telling you instead of letting her tell you herself. I'm the only one that actually knows the full story." Lily paused. "Um, how much has she actually told you about why she came to live with me? Also how much has she told you about her parents?"
"Oh um, wow. I remember that she hasn't really told us much. She mentioned on that first train ride with us that she was an orphan as well as a half-blood with her father being a wizard. She also told us about Beauxbatons and her father's connection to the school. I don't think she has mentioned her mother since the orphan comment, but she did mention her father again around Halloween that first year. She told us that he would help her with her costumes. That's it though. Wow. We really don't know much about Jazzy's parents."
Lily didn't give James the chance to contemplate that thought. "Oh wow. I really would have thought she might have told you more. Well, I guess there is a lot that I need to fill you in then. As you have realized by now, Mina loved her father very much. She was a real daddy's girl. So, when he died, it devastated her. The worst part was that she had just started at Beauxbatons. She was only 11 when she lost him. I really wanted to be there for her, but I had just started at Hogwarts. So, my parents thought it better that I just stay in school for the time being."
"So that is why you were so upset at the beginning of first year. I always wondered."
"Hush. No interrupting. And yes, that is why. Anyway, I made sure that I saw Mina at least once every summer after that year. She has always been like a sister to me, so when she told me what her mother was doing, it hurt me so much. I really wish she had told me sooner, but I'm getting ahead of myself. Anyway, Mina, really appreciated that you two came over for her birthday because she needed the distraction. Her last birthday, her 15th, didn't go so well. That was when she discovered that her mother was dead." James gasped. He couldn't believe how much their Jazzy had actually been through. He knew Sirius would be there for her though.
"Anyway, my parents and I were there to celebrate with her for her birthday. After we found her, my mother, Mina's mum's sister, was so distraught. My mum was so upset. What she didn't know, however, was the whole story. I didn't even know the whole story. Mina had never told me what had actually been going on in her house after her father had died. The only reason that I know now was because she asked me to sit in on the interview that she had with the police. She told them everything. Apparently, her mother had become an alcoholic over the years. She had been continually drinking since Mina's father died. And when her mother was drunk, she was mean." Lily glanced over at James to make sure that he was still listening. She saw the horrified look on his face and quickly continued the story. "No, she never got physical with Mina as far as I am aware, but she was emotionally abusive. She was always telling Mina she was ugly or stupid or something else mean. Her mother would only do this when she was drunk though, which doesn't make it any better. I just feel so bad for Mina. I wish she had told me sooner. So, the reason that Mina is hurt so much more by Tunnie's words is that it reminds her of her mother sometimes. I feel so bad and usually, she will let me comfort her, but by locking the door I'm pretty sure that she didn't want to see me. I tried to convince myself that it was just because she didn't want either of you barging in, but she knew you were outside. She knew I would be right behind her." Now tears started to show up in Lily's eyes. Her voice also started to waver, which James took notice of. When he saw she was on the verge of tears, he pulled her into a hug and comforted her.
Meanwhile, Sirius had finally gotten into Jasmine's room. It took a lot of pleading and begging for her to open the door, but she finally did. Sirius was happy that she opened the door, but that went away as soon as he saw her face. Her eyes were bloodshot with tears still threatening to fall. Her cheeks were tear-stained. She had been crying for a while now.
Sirius's heart melted when he saw her. He felt so bad for Jasmine. He had to comfort her, there was no other option. Sirius was determined to make this girl feel better, so he took Lily's advice.
A/N I know you all must hate me for the cliffhanger. Anyway, I was thinking as I was writing this chapter that I haven't actually thought of a ship name for Jasmine and Sirius. And I think they deserve one, so if anyone has any suggestions, be sure to comment. I'll let you all know which one I liked the best in the next chapter. Coming up next: Chapter 13: Confessions
😉😊 See you all soon I hope, Knk6700
